Aaron Bazin, Frankie Zare, William (Will) Julian
The battlefield has always been shaped by information. From the scouts of antiquity through today, the side with better knowledge often held the advantage. In today’s operational environment, however, military art has entered a fundamentally new phase—one where data itself has emerged not merely as an enabler but as a key warfighting capability, one that can potentially turn the tide of a battle, operation, or even an entire campaign.
Some projections put the sum total data in the world at 181 Zettabytes and growing at 2.5 quintillion bytes a day. As a result of this exponential growth, the concept of data superiority—the ability to collect, process, and act upon data faster and more effectively than an adversary, bears a deeper investigation. This article argues that data superiority is now essential for achieving tactical and operational advantage and ultimately unlocking strategic success.
The US Army’s vision for 2040 emphasizes achieving decision advantage through enhanced information processing, data-driven insights, and the integration of advanced technologies like AI and autonomous systems. Data superiority and decision advantage are closely related but serve different roles. Data superiority emerges as the critical capability and it is the precursor of decision advantage. Data superiority focuses on the ability to access, move, process, and exploit raw data at speed and scale. Decision advantage enables commanders to consistently make and implement better, faster decisions than the adversary. Simply put, decision advantage can determine operational success, but without data superiority makes decision advantage difficult, if not impossible.
This is because advanced data systems such as AI, autonomous platforms, and real-time targeting tools rely on vast volumes of raw data delivered in real time, and not on processed information. Combined with human judgement, data superiority can enable capabilities to function at machine speed, outpacing adversary decision cycles. It also supports interoperability across joint and coalition forces, improves resilience against cyber and electronic attacks, and allows for decentralized, adaptive responses. As modern conflict increasingly depends on data-rich, fast-moving environments, the ability to control and leverage raw data streams becomes an imperative—making data superiority a prerequisite for achieving information superiority.
The Lessons of History
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