Les mutations du renseignement militaire : dissiper le brouillard de la guerre ?
Military intelligence has evolved significantly as a result of advanced technology and the changing character of war.
In the 1990s, military intelligence was at the core of the “revolution in military affairs”, carrying the hope that it would help dissipate the fog of war and increase transparency on the battlefield. However, because of the last two decades of military operations, this transformation has proved challenging. Confronted with increasingly complex opponents, Western armed forces have had to adopt the concept of “military interest intelligence”, which widens the scope of its mission. In France, this transformation has borne many questions regarding intelligence organization and capabilities at both the service and joint levels. Given current technological challenges, both for collection and analysis, the future of military intelligence depends, more than ever, upon the amount of human and financial resources political and military leaders choose to allocate to this domain.
This content is available in French : « Les mutations du renseignement militaire : dissiper le brouillard de la guerre ? »
Author(s)
Related centers and programs
Discover our other research centers and programs
Security Studies Center
Heir to a tradition dating back to the founding of Ifri, the Security Studies Center provides public and private decision-makers as well as the general public with the keys to understanding power relations and contemporary modes of conflict as well as those to come. Through its positioning at the juncture of politics and operations, the credibility of its civil-military team and the wide distribution of its publications in French and English, the Center for Security Studies constitutes in the French landscape of think tanks a unique center of research and influence on the national and international defense debate.
Find out more
Discover all our analyses
Taking the Pulse: Is France’s New Nuclear Doctrine Ambitious Enough?
French President Emmanuel Macron has unveiled his country’s new nuclear doctrine. Are the changes he has made enough to reassure France’s European partners in the current geopolitical context?
Macron Offers a Promising Vision for Nuclear Deterrence in Europe
Macron’s concept of ‘forward deterrence’ offers a distinctly European approach to nuclear deterrence.
Multiple Launch Rocket Systems Europe’s Long-standing and Enduring Dependence?
The war in Ukraine has underlined the importance of multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) in modern conflict, especially a war without clear air superiority and hence a reduced potential for air-launched deep strike. In 2022, the European MLRS fleet was split between a variety of Western platforms developed at the end of the Cold War and specialized in precision strikes.
Autonomous Systems in the Underwater Domain: A Limitless Revolution?
One of the decisive strategic factors in the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war is the mass use of aerial, maritime, and terrestrial autonomous capabilities, which are transforming the face of the battlefield. Nevertheless, many of these drones are still remotely piloted, operated, or supervised, testifying to the fact that the autonomization of military capabilities is still at an embryonic stage.