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Shock and awe (technically known as rapid dominance) is a military strategy based on the use of overwhelming power and spectacular displays of force to paralyze the enemy's perception of the battlefield and destroy their will to fight.^[1]^[2] Though the concept has a variety of historical precedents, the doctrine was explained by Harlan K. Ullman and James P. Wade in 1996 and was developed specifically for application by the US military by the National Defense University of the United States.^[2]^[1]

^ ^a ^b "Shock and awe – Overview". Oxford University Press. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
^ ^a ^b Knowles, Elizabeth (2006). The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-860981-0.