Browsing: Madhouse

In the previous Armed Madhouse article, I argued that War Power has evolved into a self-reinforcing institutional ecosystem whose incentives increasingly favor preparations and actions carrying…

The discussion of war has changed remarkably little since antiquity. Historians, military strategists, and political leaders still evaluate conflict using familiar measures: territory gained or lost,…

A growing chorus of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and technology enthusiasts argues that the American defense establishment is overdue for disruption. A number of venture-backed defense…

Buffer zones are among the oldest concepts in military strategy. States facing persistent threats have long sought to place distance between themselves and potential adversaries. Rivers,…

For much of the post-Cold War era, advanced military powers pursued a common assumption: precision could substitute for mass. Smaller numbers of increasingly sophisticated platforms would…

The failure of the U.S. military campaign against Iran could create immense political pressure in Washington for a rapid demonstration of restored American strength. After a…

Between May 16 and 17 of this year, Ukraine launched approximately 1,500 long-range drones into Russia, demonstrating a growing capability to strike sensitive targets. This evolution…

For more than four decades, the Patriot defensive missile system has occupied a central place in the architecture of American military power. Exported widely across NATO,…

The vulnerability of surface ships to aerial attack was established decisively during the Second World War, when aircraft rendered even heavily armored vessels vulnerable to coordinated…

The U.S. Navy’s current challenges are often described as discrete problems, such as shipbuilding delays, maintenance backlogs, operational strain, and technological disruption. Taken individually, each is…