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News | July 20, 2020

An End to Exquisite Weapons

By T.X. Hammes Defense Priorities

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PACIFIC OCEAN -- An F-35B Lightning II Prepares to land on the flight deck of the amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6) during The Lightning Carrier Proof of Concept Demonstration, November 18, 2016. The F-35B will eventually replace three Marine Corps aircraft; the AV-8B Harrier, F/A-18 Hornet and the EA-6B Prowler. (U.S. Marine Corps Photo by Lance Cpl. Dana Beesley/Released
161119-M-XU431-007.jpg
161119-M-XU431-007
PACIFIC OCEAN -- An F-35B Lightning II Prepares to land on the flight deck of the amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6) during The Lightning Carrier Proof of Concept Demonstration, November 18, 2016. The F-35B will eventually replace three Marine Corps aircraft; the AV-8B Harrier, F/A-18 Hornet and the EA-6B Prowler. (U.S. Marine Corps Photo by Lance Cpl. Dana Beesley/Released
Photo By: Lance Cpl. Dana Beesley
VIRIN: 161119-M-XU431-007

The convergence of new technologies is creating smaller, cheaper, autonomous weapons that challenge America’s arsenal of few, costly, but exquisite weapons. This convergence also presents the nation with an opportunity to field forces that are not only more effective, but also cheaper. By focusing on weapons systems that can be made platform-agnostic—launching from air, sea, or land—the U.S. can forgo the huge expense of many of today’s weapons systems.

Read the rest at Defense Priorities - 

Dr. TX Hammes is a Distinguished Research Fellow at the Institute for National Strategic Studies, Center for Strategic Research at National Defense University.