The battle fleet was in position. Pitching and swaying to the rhythm of the open sea, the "Mother Ship" initiates her attack sequence. On command, unmanned aerial drones and waterborne minesweepers deploy from several smaller ships and initiate a search pattern ahead of the primary invasion force. Locating enemy missile sites, troop concentrations, and beach defenses, targeting information is relayed to the waiting fleet.

Despite being strung out across many nautical miles of desolate ocean, the fleet and her drones, troop connectors, and aircraft are all seamlessly networked. This enables flawless command and control, but most importantly, timing of the operation. The enemy defenses are weakened to a point deemed acceptable by the fleet's AI commander, and the final "over the top" order is given. Undersea drones, fast attack boats, armored troop connectors, and unmanned helicopters deploy by the hundreds from their respective ships and commence a coordinated, massed assault on the enemy beach. 

Sounds like science fiction, right? However, this hypothetical scenario is not set in the distant future; it is the Navy's and Marine Corps' latest visionfor warfare in the 21st century.