Applying the FINC (Force, Intelligence, Networking and C2) Methodology to the Land Environment

In this paper we re-examine the FINC (Force, Intelligence, Networking and C2) methodology for analysing C4ISR architectures, studying its applicability to hierarchical organisational structures in the Land environment. For this study we utilise a search-and-manoeuvre experimental scenario, implemented using an agent-based simulation written in Java. The FINC methodology allows the calculation of three metrics or coefficients for every C4ISR architecture: the information flow coefficient, the coordination coefficient, and the intelligence coefficient. Our experiment shows that the FINC intelligence coefficient alone was able to predict 95% of the variance in performance. Consequently, the intelligence coefficient can be used to compare C4ISR architectures, and predict with moderate accuracy which one will give the best performance. A brief study of some US Civil War battles confirms the usefulness of the intelligence coefficient.