Which statement describes unplanned targets?

Which statement describes unplanned targets?

• A. They are known to exist in the area of operations, but no action has been planned against them.
• B. They are known to exist and have actions planned.
• C. They are unknown to exist but discovered during execution.
• D. They become targets with a fixed delivery time.

Answer: (C)

Unplanned targets are targets you didn’t know existed before starting the operation; they only come to light during execution. That means there was no awareness of them in the planning phase, so no prior assessment or actions were prepared for them. The statement that best describes this is that these targets are unknown to exist but are discovered during execution, which is exactly what makes them unplanned: they require on-the-spot evaluation and potentially rapid adjustment to the plan. If a target is already known to exist and actions are planned, it’s not unplanned. If a target is discovered but was already known to exist, or if timing is the issue, it doesn’t fit the unplanned category.

Unplanned targets are targets you didn’t know existed before starting the operation; they only come to light during execution. That means there was no awareness of them in the planning phase, so no prior assessment or actions were prepared for them. The statement that best describes this is that these targets are unknown to exist but are discovered during execution, which is exactly what makes them unplanned: they require on-the-spot evaluation and potentially rapid adjustment to the plan.

If a target is already known to exist and actions are planned, it’s not unplanned. If a target is discovered but was already known to exist, or if timing is the issue, it doesn’t fit the unplanned category.