Fighting, Ukrainian Style: The Pentagon’s Replicator Initiative points to pending change in military organizations and industrial advantage.

The recent crash of a Russian warlord’s airplane is a reminder of the ubiquity of overhead surveillance: American intelligence thinks that the cause must have been an onboard bomb, because no missile launch was detected near Moscow. The full scope of that sort of overhead surveillance has enabled a Ukrainian style of warfare that relies heavily on highly dispersed, mobile infantry splendidly equipped with precision robotics. The Pentagon’s Replicator Initiative aims to duplicate some of that for the Americans, though perhaps with more robust and survivable weapons. Reforming fighting forces like 21st-century “Jock Columns” demands precision technology en masse, which suggests quicker program starts, faster learning curves, a shift in comparative advantage in military contracting, and less enthusiasm for horizontal mergers.

Read my four-page analysis here: Download On Fighting Ukrainian Style 20230829.