Reconnaissance, sometimes calledscouting, is the act of exploring to gainmilitary information. Often referred to asrecce (UK,Canada andAustralia, pronounced/ˈrɛki/) orrecon (U.S., pronounced/ˈriːkɒn/), the associated formalverb isreconnoitre (British spelling) orreconnoiter (American spelling).[1] In informal English, bothrecce andrecon are often also used as averb. The term is sometimes used incivilian /paramilitary and various government contexts.
Often, units sent out for reconnaissance are armed only forself-defense. They rely onstealth to gatherinformation. Others are well-enough armed to also deny information to the enemy by fighting and or destroying their reconnaissance parties.
Reconnaissance-in-force (RIF) is a method of probing an enemy's position. An attack, even with a small force, may get a strong reaction by the enemy. Hopefully that reveals the enemy's strength, deployment, and othertactical information. The RIF commander can fall back with the information or expand the conflict into a fullengagement. Other methods consist ofhit-and-run tactics using moving very fast. In some cases light-armored vehicles are used for added fire superiority, as the need arises.
