ABSTRACT
New technologies such as artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, robotics, advanced manufacturing, quantum science and hypersonic weapons are threatening to cripple existing military capabilities or render them obsolete. An ominous sense has arisen in the US military that American forces as presently constituted are inadequate to meet future security challenges and in danger of falling farther behind. Military innovation is therefore seen as a key to future victory. 1 The thinking runs that only by implementing dramatic changes in the conduct of warfare – technological, organisational, doctrinal or ideally a combination of all three – will the United States be able to maintain its military edge against great-power rivals and secure its position atop the global hierarchy. While innovation is often equated with progress, however, military innovation does not guarantee improved performance.
