Examining the sociotechnical determinants of revolution in military affairs on electronic warfare capability development: Evidence from a military organization unit in Indonesia

Electronic warfare capability is an important area in the revolution of military affairs (RMA), which needs be understood holistically through a sociotechnical lens. This study aims to examine the influence of personnel competence, doctrine, and materiel as three sociotechnical determinants of electronic warfare capability development in a military organization unit by employing quantitative research design. Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) analysis was conducted on 82 personnel in an organization unit within the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI). The results show that materiel has a significant and positive influence on electronic warfare capability development in the studied object, whereas personnel competence and doctrine have a positive but insignificant influence. These findings provide evidence that strongly support the technology-driven RMA discourse while also emphasizing the importance of aligning the social aspects of personnel competence and doctrine with the technological aspect of developing electronic warfare capability as a part of RMA undertaking. The implication of these findings warrants a call for broader policy development to strengthen and integrate national research and development (R&D) and industrial bases to provide state-of-the-art technology for electronic warfare capability development.