Complex situations, either military or civilian, require higher-level information fusion to provide decision-makers with proper situation assessment/awareness, and impact/threat assessment. Basic models such as the OODA loop and Endsley's model are highlighted and compared. The role of taxonomies/ontologies, and the need for some standardization (STANAG or MIL-STD) is stressed. Critical issues such as reliability, credibility, and information relevance is also described, since they strongly affect the quality of the results obtained through information fusion. Network-enabled operations, which can be achieved through information exchange via data links, require that fusion nodes be distributed, one per platform. Prosecution of pirates is most easily achieved by ships that are dispatched using the Common Operating Picture shared by the patrol aircraft, UAVs, satellites, ships and ground stations.