Force multiplication Force multiplication , in military usage , refers to an attribute or a combination of attributes which make a given force more effective than that same force would be without it . The expected size increase required to have the same effectiveness without that advantage is the multiplication factor . For example , if a certain technology like GPS enables a force to accomplish the same results of a force five times as large but without GPS , then the multiplier is five . Such estimates are used to justify an investment cost for force multipliers . A force multiplier refers to a factor that dramatically increases ( hence " multiplies " ) the effectiveness of an item or group . Some common force multipliers are : Some factors may influence one another , e . g . enhanced technology improving morale or geographical features allowing deception . It seems clear that force multiplication existed before anyone had a name for it . While the Mongols used swarming tactics coordinated by non - electronic communications , such simple tactics nevertheless made them notably effective . In the Middle Ages , stakes were often driven into the ground to protect archers . This is an example of " combined arms " , a doctrinal development and another example of force multiplication . When World War I aviators first greeted their opponents with friendly waves , no one realized the multiplicative effect of tactical air reconnaissance . However , after the command on both sides became aware of how powerful it could be , aviators started shooting at each other . At first they did so with rifles and then with purpose - built aircraft guns . Doctrinal changes . In the First World War , the Germans experimented with what were called " storm tactics " , where a small group of highly trained soldiers ( stormtroopers ) would open a salient through which much larger forces could penetrate . This met with only limited success , while the 1939 Blitzkrieg , which broke through with coordinated mechanized ground forces with aircraft in close support , was vastly more effective . Towards the end of World War II , the German army introduced kampfgruppe combat formations that were composed of whatever units happened to be available . Though poor quality ones generally constituted the major part of them , they often performed successfully because of their high degree of flexibility and adaptability . Mission - type tactics , as opposed to extremely specific directives that give no discretion to the junior commander , are widely used by modern militaries now due to their force multiplication . Originating from German concepts of " Auftragstaktik " , these tactics may be developing even more rapidly in the concept of network - centric warfare , where subordinate commanders receive information not only from their own commanders , but from adjacent units . A different paradigm was one of the results of the theories of John Boyd , the " high - low mix " in which a large number of less expensive aircraft , coupled with a small number of extremely capable " silver bullet " aircraft , had the effect of a much larger force . Boyd ' s concept of quick action is based on the repeated application of the Boyd loop , consisting of the steps Boyd ' s concept is also known as the OODA Loop , and is a description of the decision - making process that Boyd contended applies to business , sports , law enforcement and military operations . Boyd ' s doctrine is widely taught in the American military , and one of the aims of network centric warfare is to get inside his OODA loop — that is , to go from observation to action before the enemy can get past orientation , preventing him from ever being able to make an effective decision or put it into action . Small unit leadership is critical to this , and NCW ' s ability to disseminate information to small unit leaders enables such tactics . Network - centric warfare can provide additional information and can help prevent fratricide , but also allows swarm tactics and the seizing of opportunities by subordinate forces . These are a realization of Boyd ' s theories . defines " " a swarming case is any historical example in which the scheme of maneuver involves the convergent attack of five ( or more ) semiautonomous ( or autonomous ) units on a targeted force in some particular place . " Convergent " implies an attack from most of the points on the compass . " Another version of " swarming " is evident in air - to - ground attack formations in which the attack aircraft do not approach from one direction , at one time , or at the same altitude , but schedule the attacks so each one requires a Boyd - style OODA iteration to deal with a new threat . Replacement training units ( RTU ) were " finishing schools " for pilots that needed to know not just the school solution , but the actual tactics being used in Vietnam . Referring to close air support , " In the RTU , new pilots learned the rules of the road for working with a Forward Air Controller ( FAC ) . The hardest part was finding the small aircraft as it circled over the target area . The fast - moving fighters used directional finding / steering equipment to get close enough to the slow , low FAC until someone in the flight could get an eyeball on him — a tally - ho . Once the FAC was in sight , he would give the fighters a target briefing — type of target , elevation , attack heading , location of friendlies , enemy defensive fire , best egress heading if hit by enemy fire , and other pertinent data . Usually the fighters would set up a circle , called a wheel or wagon wheel , over the FAC , and wait for him to mark the target . Once the target was marked , the flight leader would attack first . Psychology . Napoleon is well known for his comment " The moral is to the physical as three to one . " Former Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Colin Powell has said : " Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier . " Morale , training , and ethos have long been known to result in disproportionate effects on the battlefield . Psychological warfare can target the morale , politics , and values of enemy soldiers and their supporters to effectively neutralize them in a conflict . Technology . In the First World War , there were two abortive experiments where , had the high commands had the imagination to realize the potential use of new weapons , there could have been a massive breakthrough through the stalemate of trench warfare . The first was the large - scale German use of chemical weapon s at the Second Battle of Ypres , and the second was the large - scale British use of tank s at the Battle of Cambrai in 1917 . Either of these new attack methods could have opened an enormous breach in the enemy lines , but failed , as did the Battle of the Crater in the American Civil War . Bombers . At one extreme , a stealthy aircraft can attack a target without needing the large numbers of escort fighters , electronic warfare , air defense suppression , and other supporting aircraft that would be needed were conventional bombers used against the same target . Whether or not the aircraft have low observability , precision guided munitions ( PGM ) give an immense multiplication . The Thanh Hoa Bridge in North Vietnam had been only mildly damaged by approximately 800 sorties by aircraft armed with conventional " dumb " bombs , but had one of its spans destroyed by a 12 - plane mission , of which 8 carried laser - guided bombs . Two small subsequent missions , again with laser - guided bombs , completed the destruction of this target . Precision guided munitions are one example of what has been called the Revolution in Military Affairs . In World War II , British night bombers could hit , at best , an area of a city . Modern PGMs commonly put a bomb within 3 – 10 meters of its target , and most carry an explosive charge significant enough that this uncertainty is effectively voided . See the in Afghanistan , using the technique of Ground - Aided Precision Strike . Fighter combat . Fighter aircraft coordinated by an AWACS control aircraft , so that they can approach targets without being revealed by their own radar , and who are assigned to take specific targets so that duplication is avoided , are far more effective than an equivalent number of fighters dependent on their own resources for target acquisition . In exercises between the Indian and US air forces , the Indian pilots had an opportunity to operate with AWACS control , and found it extremely effective . India has ordered AWACS aircraft , using Israeli Phalcon electronics on a Russian airframe , and this exercise is part of their preparation . Officer and pilot comments included " definitely was a force multiplier . Giving you an eye deep beyond you " . . . " We could pick up incoming targets whether aircraft or missiles almost 400 kilometers away . It gives a grand battle coordination in the air " . Creating local forces . The use of small numbers of specialists to create larger effective forces is another form of multiplication . The basic A Team of US Army Special Forces is a 12 - man unit that can train and lead a company - sized unit ( 100 - 200 men ) of local guerrillas . While it is not clear when the term " force multiplier " first appeared in the military literature , the use of small teams to raise much larger guerrilla units was among the first uses of the term . Deception . Deception can produce the potential effect of a much larger force . The fictitious First United States Army Group ( FUSAG ) was portrayed to the World War II Germans as the main force for the invasion of Europe . Operation Bodyguard successfully gave the impression that FUSAG was to land at the Pas de Calais , convincing the Germans that the real attack at Normandy was a feint . As a result of the successful deception , the Normandy force penetrated deeply , in part , because the Germans held back strategic reserves that they thought would be needed at the Pas de Calais , against what was a nonexistent force . FUSAG ' s existence was suggested by the use of decoy vehicles that the Allies allowed to be photographed , fictitious radio traffic generated by a small number of specialists , and the Double Cross System . Double Cross referred to turning all surviving German spies in the UK into double agents , who sent back convincing reports that were consistent with the deception programs being conducted by the London Controlling Section .