Combat information center

Plan position indicator (PPI) display showing polar display and radar sweep. A real radar display would show hard terrain features and look recognizably map-like, and from the sea, match well with land features of local nautical charts matching and sending strong clean radar echos back to the ship at sea.

A combat information center (CIC) or action information centre (AIC) is a room in a warship or AWACS aircraft that functions as a tactical center and provides processed information for command and control of the near battlespace or area of operations. Within other military commands, rooms serving similar functions are known as command centers.

Regardless of the vessel or command locus, each CIC organizes and processes information into a form more convenient and usable by the commander in authority. Each CIC funnels communications and data received over multiple channels, which is then organized, evaluated, weighted and arranged to provide ordered timely information flow to the battle command staff under the control of the CIC officer and his deputies.