Military warning is the ability to perceive, detect, and judge the possibility of hostile action. This is usually done by monitoring a region's activities and using multiple sensors like radar, radio, telemetry, and radar-based firecontrol systems.
A wide range of sensors are used for military warning, and their products, or outputs, are complicated and voluminous. These sensors include cameras, telescopes, heat-sensing and low-light-level equipment, radar, acoustic and seismic detection devices, as also computers that summarize and condense the data.
Military warning was traditionally conducted by ground-based radars or other detection devices. Ground-based radars and other detection devices have been replaced by airborne early warning systems.
Airborne early warning radars are used most often to locate and track aircraft equipped with ballistic weapons. Over the years, technology has advanced significantly in these radars.
Modern airborne radars are capable of tracking a wide range of targets including aircraft, ground-based missiles, and ships. They offer high levels of resolution and accuracy, along with a longer line-of sight to the horizon.
In addition to a wide range of radars, today's military warning system is also based on a sophisticated network of communication and information-processing equipment that allows for a seamless exchange of data from the sensor to the decision maker. This crucial component of any military warning systems is essential because it allows commanders to take appropriate actions and make decisions.
Command and control systems are another component of a military warning system that can be used to help a team coordinate their efforts during a conflict. A system must be able quickly to disseminate information on potential dangers to personnel or other assets such as ammunition or fuel depots.
A warning system may be tactical, strategic, or short-term. In a short-term alert, hostilities are perceived as imminent and immediate action is taken. Strategic warnings are when the threat to an attack is perceived, and a plan is developed for countering it.
Historically, the most important and successful early warning system has been the DEW Line designed in 1954 to monitor Soviet bombers armed with nuclear weapons coming over the North Pole. The DEW Line uses a number of stations, starting in Alaska and stretching across northern Canada to Greenland, to detect Soviet bombers traveling toward the United States.
This system proved crucial in preventing Soviet aggression during the Cold War. American military planners only had eight minutes to prepare for Soviet-launched nuclear-missile strike on the United States. The eight-minute response allowed for the creation of plans to evacuate people and prevent the United States being damaged by a nuclear strike.