The Pursuit of Technological Superiority and the Shrinking American Military
Why has the US military begun to suffer from overstretch in recent decades? Why is one of the largest militaries in the world, and the most expensive by far, periodically stressed by the operational demands placed upon it? This book argues that recent pro
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THE PURSUIT OF TECHNOLOGICAL SUPERIORITY A N D T H E S H R I N K I N G A M E R I C A N M I L I TA R Y
The Pursuit of Technological Superiority and the Shrinking American Military
Daniel R. Lake
The Pursuit of Technological Superiority and the Shrinking American Military
Daniel R. Lake State University of New York College at Plattsburgh Plattsburgh, NY, USA
ISBN 978-1-137-33062-8 ISBN 978-1-349-78681-7 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-78681-7 Library of Congress Control Number: 2018964088 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2019 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature America, Inc. The registered company address is: 1 New York Plaza, New York, NY 10004, U.S.A.
To my mother and my wife, two ladies who rock.
Contents
1 The Problem of Overstretch 1 1.1 The Argument in Brief 7 1.2 The History of This Issue 8 1.3 Summary of Contents 10 References 13 2 The Shrinking American Military 17 2.1 Trends in Personnel and Equipment 19 2.2 The Shrinking American Military in Context 23 2.3 US Military Equipment Cost Growth 35 2.3.1 Design, Performance, and Cost Growth 36 2.3.2 The Procurement Process and Cost Growth 40 2.3.3 Cost Growth Feedback Loops 43 2.4 The Changing “Tooth-to-Tail Ratio” 45 2.4.1 The Growth of the “Tail” 48 2.5 Conclusion 55 References 58 3 The Pursuit of Technological Superiority 63 3.1 The Pursuit of Technological Superiority in Historical Context 64 3.2 Instrumental Rationales for the Pursuit of Technological Superiority 78 3.3 The Culture of Technological Superiority 82 vii
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Contents
3.4 Why Now? 90 3.5 Conclusion 91 References 93 4 The Air Force and Technology101 4.1 The Air Force and Its Way of
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