definition for: #RevolutionInMilitaryAffairs

The basic theory is that throughout history warfare has developed mostly in an evolutionary manner. However, occasionally, ideas or inventions caused fast and drastic changes. These changes not only affected the application of military force, but changed the larger geopolitical arena to the advantage of those who mastered the technology. There are two types of RMAs. The first kind is driven by technology and is what most people think of as an RMA. They are referred to more accurately as military technical revolutions (MTR). Some call them small revolutions. An MTR is the use of new technology on existing strategies of warfare. Examples of this include the invention of gunpowder, the airplane, the submarine, and the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM). Another type, which some suggest is a true RMA, includes an MTR, as well as changes in the organizational structure, strategy, ideology, and training of the military. This kind of RMA changes not just the way wars are fought, but is accompanied by profound changes in society, in areas such as diplomacy, politics, economy, business, etc. Some wars, which occurred during the industrial revolution, such as the Napoleonic Wars, are examples of this. Warfare is said by some to have been revolutionized when Alexander the Great combined infantry and cavalry forces. Some say the Roman army?s use of arrows, staffs, shields, and precise formations against the more numerous barbarian hordes was an RMA. The tactic of using a spear on horseback, invented in the 1500s, which joined the power of the horse with the thrust of the spear, is claimed by some to have been an RMA. The invention of gunpowder during the late Middle Ages, which replaced swords and bows was another. The German Blitzkrieg, which used radios in tanks and planes to coordinate them in a highly maneuverable way, was an RMA according to some. RMAs linked to the industrial revolution include the Napoleonic Wars, which for the first time used the resources of the industrializing nations to equip mass armies, as well as the American Civil War, which used the railroad and telegraph to extend mobility, communications, and logistics. The invention of ICBMs, which allowed for the destruction of massive sections of a country, affecting not just its military, but its economy, social, and political system, is considered by some to have been an RMA. Definition taken from NewWorldWar.org. See also: #NewWorldWar