Targeting is the process by which:

• a desired effect against a target is identified;
• the means of achieving that effect is planned;
• weapons systems are applied to deliver the desired effect.

All targeting operations are subjected to careful scrutiny to ensure that they accord with the Government's objectives for the campaign, involve as far as is possible the minimum use of force, and, most importantly, meet the strict requirements of international law governing the conduct of military operations. These are known as the Laws of Armed Combat or LOAC.

All military commanders are trained in LOAC and there is a legal adviser at every command level in the targeting process to ensure that our obligations under LOAC are properly met. The key principles are:

• Distinction - Only military objectives and combatants can be targeted. Civilians or civilian objects must not be targeted, although dual-use facilities, or normally civilian items being used for military purposes, may be legitimate targets. It therefore follows that commanders must determine whether a target is a military objective before authorising an attack. Indiscriminate attack techniques, which cannot distinguish between what is military and what is civilian, are prohibited.
• Military Necessity - Just because something is military in nature does not mean that it can be attacked. To be a legitimate target, it must be judged as making an effective contribution to military action and its destruction should offer definite military advantage in the context of the campaign.
• Proportionality - This is a central principle when there is a risk that a planned attack on a military target might cause incidental civilian harm, whether death, injury or damage. This harm must not be excessive when set against the direct and concrete military advantage to be gained from the attack. It follows that, under LOAC, an attack which risks civilian harm can still be lawful, but that where the civilian loss would be clearly excessive compared to the military gain, it would not be lawful.
• Special Provisions - There are many special provisions under LOAC placing further legal considerations s on targeting. Examples include the consideration to be given to protecting cultural, historical and religious sites, medical facilities, etc. Also, there are restrictions on targeting objects indispensable to the population's survival, such as foodstuffs, agricultural areas and drinking water, or attacks that would cause widespread, long-term and severe damage to the natural environment.

Intensive intelligence study is undertaken to help commanders identify any civilian areas within the maximum possible effective radius of our weapons. If such areas are identified, then the highly trained targeting specialists have a range of options to draw on to reduce or eliminate entirely the potential for civilian casualties. These include:

• using Precision Guided Munitions;
• using smaller weapons;
• choosing different fuzing options for ordnance;
• selecting different aiming points;
• limiting the angles from which attacks are mounted;
• timing the attack to coincide with periods of low or zero civilian occupancy.

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