Abstract
State and non-state actors are challenging the US Army’s asymmetric strategic advantage and global military dominance. Countries such as Russia and China are incorporating technological advances to limit and challenge the US Army’s capabilities and freedom of maneuver. Non-state actors are acquiring advanced weaponry creating a hostile environment for Army aviation operations in the Middle East, and these revisionist elements challenge the US’s hegemony making the world more violent and unstable. To thwart the projected actions of state and non-state entities, the US Army needs to undergo another disruptive innovation in military power. The Persian Gulf War was a demonstration of the US military’s last disruptive innovation resulting in global military dominance, and the US Army is currently planning for the next leap in military capability. This paper proposes that the path to the next disruptive innovation is through investments in the foundational technologies of nanotechnology, quantum computing, and artificial intelligence. Applying these innovations to Army Aviation Advanced Protection Systems creates an asymmetric strategic advantage ensuring global freedom of maneuver for the US Army’s land forces.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Rafael Rosado, Attorney Advisor, AMC Legal Center, Army Material Command, email interview by author, January 30, 2017.
References
Sinquefield R (2013) Innovation is key to the success of 21st century philanthropy. Forbes, 16 May 2013. http://www.forbes.com/sites/rexsinquefield/2013/05/16/innovation-is-key-to-the-success-of-21st-century-philanthropy/#75f73a5a29f0
Schubert FN, Kraus TL (eds) The whirlwind war. Center of Military History United States Army, Washington DC, p 25
Hagel CT (2014) Reagan national defense forum keynote. Public speech, Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, Simi Valley, CA, 15 Nov 2014, p 6
Lissner RF (2016) The long shadow of the gulf war, 24 Feb 2016. https://warontherocks.com/2016/02/the-long-shadow-of-the-gulf-war/
Spada A (2016) Airplanes at risk: Daesh has new military technologies? 7 Jan 2016. http://www.islamedianalysis.info/airplanes-at-risk-daesh-has-new-military-technologies/
Horowitz MC (2010) Military power and major military innovations. In: The diffusion of military power, causes and consequences for international politics. Princeton University Press, Princeton, p 22
Stephenson S (2010) The revolution in military affairs: 12 observations on an out-of-fashion idea. Mil Rev 38
U.S. Department of the Army (2014) The U.S. Army operating concept: win in a complex world, TRADOC pamphlet 525-3-1. U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, Fort Eustis, VA, 31 Oct 2014
Howard M, Guilmartin JF (1994) Two historians in technology and war, 1 July 1994. http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pubs/display.cfm?pubID=354
U.S. Department of the Army (2016) The warfighters’ science and technology needs, 21 Sept 2016
Bender J (2016) The US intelligence chief made some chilling predictions for 2016’s biggest global threats, 10 Feb 2016. http://www.businessinsider.com/these-are-the-main-global-threats-for-2016-2016-2
U.S. Department of the Army (2016) Future force development strategy, 23 Nov 2016 (Pre-decisional Draft)
Youssef NA, Harris S (2016) U.S. fears new missile race in Syria would help ISIS, 25 Apr 2016. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/04/25/u-s-fears-new-missile-race-in-syria-would-help-isis.html
Lindell J (2009) Clausewitz: war, peace and politics, 26 Nov 2009. http://www.e-ir.info/2009/11/26/clausewitz-war-peace-and-politics/
U.S. Department of the Army (2012) Mission command, ADRP 6.0. U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, Fort Eustis, VA, 17 May 2012
Schwab K (2015) The fourth industrial revolution, what it means and how to respond. Foreign Aff. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/2015-12-12/fourth-industrial-revolution
Army Warfighting Challenges, 12 Oct 2016. http://www.arcic.army.mil/App_Documents/AWFC-Current.pdf
Trent Lythgoe, US Army (2015) Advanced protection systems. In: Information paper, ARCIC, 7 Dec 2015
Calafut M (2015) The future of aircraft survivability. Army Technol 3(2)
Chameau JL, Ballhaus WF, Lin HS (eds) (2014) Emerging and readily available technologies and national security: a framework for addressing ethical, legal, and societal issues. National Academies Press (US), Washington (DC), p 31
Tulevski G (2016) The next step in nanotechnology. Ted Talks, video file. https://www.ted.com/talks/george_tulevski_the_next_step_in_nanotechnology
Hardesty L (2016) Toward practical quantum computers, 8 Aug 2016. http://news.mit.edu/2016/toward-practical-quantum-computers-0808
Lloyd S (2017) Ultrahigh sensitivity graphene infrared detectors for imaging and spectroscopy. Graphene Flagship, 31 Jan 2017. http://graphene-flagship.eu/graphene-pyroelectric-bolometers-(2)
Johnson D (2017) Graphene infrared eye needs no signal amplification, 3 Feb 2017. http://spectrum.ieee.org/nanoclast/semiconductors/devices/graphene-infrared-eye-needs-no-cooling
Andrei M (2012) Nanomaterials to prevent speeding bullets, 8 Nov 2012. http://www.zmescience.com/science/nanotechnology-science/nanomaterial-armor-mit-08112012/
Christensen C (2012) Disruptive innovation explained, 30 Mar 2012. YouTube, video file. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDrMAzCHFUU&t=324s
Mukunda G (2010) We cannot go on: disruptive innovation and the first world war royal navy. Secur Stud 19(1):128
Metz S, Johnson DV (2001) Asymmetry and US military strategy: definition, background, and strategic concepts, Jan 2001. http://strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pdffiles/PUB223.pdf
Good Reads Abraham Lincoln Quote. The Best Way to Predict Your Future is to create it. http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/328848-the-best-way-to-predict-your-future-is-to-create
2014 Annual Report. Additional opportunities to reduce fragmentation, overlap, and duplication and achieve other financial benefits, GAO-14-343SP, 8 Apr 2014. https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-14-343SP
Nanomanufacturing in America, small but imperfectly formed, 7 Feb 2014. http://www.economist.com/blogs/babbage/2014/02/nanomanufacturing-america?fsrc=scn/gp/wl/bl/smallbutimperfectlyformed
2015 NASA Technology Roadmaps, TA 10: Nanotechnology, pp 42–84, 99–116, July 2015. https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/2015_nasa_technology_roadmaps_ta_10_nanotechnology_final.pdf. Accessed 10 Feb 2017
A leap forward for quantum computers, 23 Feb 2016. http://www.idquantique.com/quantum-computers/
Preparing for the future of artificial intelligence, 12 Oct 2016. https://permanent.access.gpo.gov/gpo75059/preparing_for_the_future_of_ai.pdf
Pollard W (2017) BrainyQuote.com, Xplore Inc. https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/w/williampol163245.html
Christensen C Disruptive innovation. http://www.claytonchristensen.com/key-concepts/
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Petty, T.C. (2020). Protecting Army Aviation and Enabling Military Dominance Through Disruptive Innovation. In: Kosal, M. (eds) Disruptive and Game Changing Technologies in Modern Warfare. Advanced Sciences and Technologies for Security Applications. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-28342-1_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-28342-1_10
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-28341-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-28342-1
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)