Defensive countermeasures included, but are not limited to, stealth, sensor jamming, and physical camouflage. To Decide To Attack . For a potential target to become an intended target an attacker has to decide whether to engage it or not. Several factors drive this decision. For example, the United States strategic defense against nuclear weapons is currently predicated on deterring a nuclear attacker's decision to launch a nuclear strike with a threat of massive retaliation.
Deception can also fool an attacker's decision making process.
To Reach The Target . The attacker has to somehow cover the physical space between it and its target. Defeating this step is a common approach used in most defense plans. After overcoming the physical and man-made barriers, the attacker must touch, physically or otherwise, the target, that is hit it or deliver an intended force close enough to affect the target. Hitting the target means hitting it in the right spot, which goes back to the find step in the targeting sequence.