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The Kill Chain: Defending America in the Future of High-Tech Warfare Hardcover – April 21, 2020
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From a former senior advisor to Senator John McCain comes an urgent wake-up call about how new technologies are threatening America's military might.
For generations of Americans, our country has been the world's dominant military power. How the US military fights, and the systems and weapons that it fights with, have been uncontested. That old reality, however, is rapidly deteriorating. America's traditional sources of power are eroding amid the emergence of new technologies and the growing military threat posed by rivals such as China. America is at grave risk of losing a future war.
As Christian Brose reveals in this urgent wake-up call, the future will be defined by artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, and other emerging technologies that are revolutionizing global industries and are now poised to overturn the model of American defense. This fascinating, if disturbing, book confronts the existential risks on the horizon, charting a way for America's military to adapt and succeed with new thinking as well as new technology. America must build a battle network of systems that enables people to rapidly understand threats, make decisions, and take military actions, the process known as "the kill chain." Examining threats from China, Russia, and elsewhere, The Kill Chain offers hope and, ultimately, insights on how America can apply advanced technologies to prevent war, deter aggression, and maintain peace
- Print length320 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherHachette Books
- Publication dateApril 21, 2020
- Dimensions6.35 x 1.4 x 9.35 inches
- ISBN-10031653353X
- ISBN-13978-0316533539
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Customers find the writing quality great and necessary, with insightful, concise themes. They also describe the book as a great primer for anyone who would like to learn about the national and combat MOS in the Marine Corps. Opinions are mixed on the plot, with some finding it compelling, scary, and must-reading, while others say it's extremely fatalistic.
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Customers find the writing quality of the book great, well written, concise, and engaging. They also say it makes good but common points about infrastructure and the political and bureaucratic machine.
"This book will grab your attention, keep you spell bound and scare the heck out of you...." Read more
"...Overall , not perfect but a very important must read" Read more
"There were so many great excerpts throughout the book that my highlights filled 16 pages in MS Word...." Read more
"...believe that following the approach recommended is very hard, but very worth while...." Read more
Customers find the themes insightful, excellent, and compelling. They say the book provides a deep picture of the US military and provides logical arguments in favor of big changes. Readers also say it's a great primer for anyone who would like to learn how our national defense works.
"I am in the Acquisition/PM field and this book is very applicable." Read more
"Thought provoking and great insights but with a few material omissions.As others have noted this is an extremely thought provoking book...." Read more
"...Thought provoking and the book is currently being circulated around the office." Read more
"...He explains things in depth without drowning the reader in technical detail...." Read more
Customers have mixed opinions about the plot of the book. Some find it compelling, scary, and must-reading, while others say it's extremely fatalistic and the future looks bleak.
"This book will grab your attention, keep you spell bound and scare the heck out of you...." Read more
"...It is very fatalistic however. Essentially, our defense procurement process is flawed, has been flawed, and we are in a losing arms race with China...." Read more
"...The Kill Chain is compelling, scary, and must-reading for our political leaders and all intelligent voters." Read more
"...This book points to a way forward, but unfortunately, the future looks bleak...." Read more
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The new technology comes in many forms. There now are missiles that fly 2 or 3 times faster than what is available now. The missiles can reach out many many thousands of miles more, enough to hit America from the other side of the world. Now computers are recently coming out on the market which are smaller and 2 or 3 times faster than previous computers. All of that combines to radically speed up the decision time for war operations. The author calls it the kill chain.
The change doesn't stop there. The tactics used by our competitors has radically changed warfare. The examples the author uses comes from Russia. He reviews their invasion of "Little Green Men" in the Ukraine turned warfare upside down. They infiltrated troops into the land. Then they merged with dissent forces already in the country. Then the war stars, but on a small scale. Before you know it Russia grabbed Crimea and neutralized a huge slice of the Ukraine. That was the first time since WWII where borders changed.
The last part of the book is the most scary. He relies on his experience in Congress. He cites several examples to show where the bureaucracy is incapable of change. The pressures of on going operations, turf wars, political desires to protect home based companies all have immobilized the bureaucracy. He also cites the case of the Army trying to get a new side arm. It took 17 million to test an off the shelf pistol. The case showed how fear of risk has layered on level after level of control and check. Those levels of course adds costs. That was just one weapons program. Can you imagine what the cost is as you expand that out to really big ticket things like carriers. It leads to the Pentagon to continue buying weapons it doesn't need and use tactics which really come out of WWII. As the Pentagon games go on the world's armies change. I think his point about the bureaucracy caught in a never ending loop also might explain other troubles across the globe.
That leads to the scary part. Is the country ready for the future? Will it defend the nation for the future? If it isn't 9/11 might be a match strike in comparison.
As others have noted this is an extremely thought provoking book. Perhaps the most disturbing is the discussion of war gaming a war with China and in most every Chinese initiated war China wins. A close runner-up was the lack of widespread commitment of other senate members to be as fully informed as possible on the military side of military affairs including budgets for specific projects.
It's hard to document the claim that two issues were serious omissions but I think there were.
There are seemingly minor details that are important Robert McNamara worked for Ford not GM. This is important for decisions at Ford by McNamara's accolates took Ford down to one of its smallest market share of the postwar years. McNamara gave Ford the Falcon , his successors brought out the Mustang. His arrogance cost billions and thousands of lives.
McCain recognized the political folly of the initial "leased" Boeing Replacement Tanker Program but that is not discussed. Neither is the continuing debacle of the program, felony convictions/pleas of top Boeing execs and the Pentagon's civilian chief of procurement all associated with the ill-fated tanker program. Declared a near emergency need at the turn of the century, twenty later the tankers can not perform the mission and tens of billions over budget.
To put the Tanker Program debacle in perspective, In July 1962 the US achieved its first orbital space flight and its first Moon landing 7 years later. In contrast the replacement tanker program has been in process Boeing was awarded the contract in 2002 , 19 years later and the tankers are not fully operational. Along the way both Boeing and a top civilian dod official did some hard time on felony corruption convictions/pleas.
The author notes that in the event of an outbreak of war between the US and China the US ships must get far offshore to have even a chance of survival, well beyond the range of existing carrier based aircraft to attack Chinese forces. The lack of tankers, short range attack aircraft and light loads prevents the Navy from going deep inland.
Part of the problem is that the Navy was induced to scrap the long range, extremely deadly F-14B and F-14X and replace them with the slower, shorter range , less carrying capacity F-18s (also made by Boeing) . The Navy had available at the time the F-14X upgrade program which would have converted the F-14 to an even more deadly fighter / bomber and equipped them with a follow-on to the Phoenix missiles, so badly needed to defend the fleet against airborne launched cruise missiles. In addition there were further upgrades in the works to give the Phoenix missiles extremely valuable capabilities. A further indication of the suspicious pattern is that DOD required that all F-14 tooling and parts be destroyed. The claim was made that the F-14s were maintenance hogs. Partly true but largely fixed with the F-14X digital conversion and new engines. While the maintenance hours per flight hour were problematical, when looked at in the big picture they were a rounding error in the 6,000 or so sailors in the Battle Group working 10-15 hour days and the thousands onshore supporting the effort.
Does this matter, well yesterday the Chinese ran a practice attack on a US carrier as about 15 aircraft approached within 250 nautical miles of the carrier. Most certainly within range to launch enough hypersonic cruise missiles to virtually assure the carrier would be taken out of action or sent to the bottom of the ocean. As the author notes today's strategy requires that the carriers flee the area and standoff about 1,000 miles. Faster, much longer range F-14x aircraft with the next generation Phoenix would significantly reduce this threat. They would also do the same against large Russian aircraft carrying many cruise missiles.
The F-35s will help overcome this deficiency but until they are fully operational and our Naval tanker capabilities redeveloped US capabilities are seriously compromised.
The author makes many great observations regarding deficiencies in procurement management, in the Pentagon , Congress and White House.
Examples discussed include the Army's failed attempt to acquire a new pistol. The 500 page request for proposals and flawed competition would be a joke were in not for the fact that the taxpayers precious dollars were wasted in the failed effort.
An illustration of how perverted the situation has become was illustrated today with a note the the US Air Force had issued an RFP for a "modesty curtain" to be installed on our ancient B-52's because there were now female personnel flying missions. This is a need that should be solvable by a few individuals over a bottle of wine who would probably come up with better ideas, reviewed by an engineer on Monday and perhaps fabricated in one of the base shops.
As others have noted it was USAF Col John Boyd who revolutionized the air to air combat, was shunned by top Brass while at the Pentagon and left to his own devices prepared his famous day long lecture on Winning and Loosing Wars that in turn helped rewrite the USMC land battle doctrine. Most all of this work done out of sight of his "leaders" .
The author might have also given credit to leaders like Admiral Tom Connolly who sacrificed his career to save Naval aviation from the terminally flawed F-111B as an example of the character and courage needed in the Pentagon, Congress and the White House today and into the future.
The author's descriptions of the challenges posed by an aggressive and expansive China should be taken to heart by every American. Unless we stop treating military procurement as a Chicago like spoils system and manage both what we buy and what we pay for it we are inviting Chinese military challenges and placing an even greater financial millstone around the necks of American taxpayers and their future generations.
Overall , not perfect but a very important must read
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Well written in a simple and clear way for all the audience.
I really like the heads up on the current real threat...that is not the China arms or technology race..but the people (governments) guided by lobby and lazy-mind leaders not able to think out of the old-fashioned path...
Only negative aspect: The details on the US burocracy and politics are sometime too many.
I really enjoyed it
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装備の近代化の遅れの理由の一つとして後段で述べられている硬直的で官僚的な組織という下りは、日本だけではないのだなと思いました。
それにしても、こうした本の著者ですら「中国3千年の歴史」といった中国政府によるプロパガンダに騙されているというのは驚きでした。その歴史を考えれば中国が大国になりたがるのは必然だといった書きぶりには唖然としました。でも、これはこの本のごく僅かな一部で、書籍全体としては大いに参考になりました。
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⑴中国の軍事力は、いまやアメリカを凌ぎ、今すぐアメリカと戦争したら、アメリカは負ける可能性が高い。この重大な潜在的危機が、未だにひろく認識されていない。
⑵その原因は、30年前冷戦が終わったとき、その時の潜在的敵国であったソ連が解体し、まだ中国は貧しく、アメリカに対抗する巨大パワーがなくなって、アメリカが世界のハイパー・パワーとして無敵になったと思い込み、それまでの緊張感を喪失して、それ以後必要な軍事開発を怠ってきたからである。
⑶とくに、軍事技術に最新の先端技術を欠き、全体として金がかかるだけの旧式の軍装備となっている。重要な先端技術は軍事産業でなく、商用技術産業で発展・進歩している。
⑷今後軍事改革を正しく遂行するためには、新技術だけでなく、軍事力全体について「考え方=mind-set」を変えて、根本的に取り組むことが必要である。
⑸これから軍事改革を進めるために、すでに桎梏となってしまった軍産複合体や政治機構の抜本的改革をして、冷戦初期の活力を再現することが必要である。
アメリカの軍事が、現実にどのような問題を抱えて、また悩んでいるか、はじめて理解できた部分が多々あったという意味で、この本は非常に参考になった。日本人の私としても、この問題は決して他人ごとではない。あらためて、私自身を含めて「平和ボケ」を自覚した。
私個人としては(5)の部分の政治的・事務的手続きの問題、つまりこの書の11~12章は、アメリカの内部事情がほとんどであり、あまり興味がわかなかった。
文章としては、英語は比較的簡明で論旨も明瞭で読みにくくはないが、本の全体構成としては重複や冗長がかなりあり、もっと整理して著述することができたように思った。