Technological Change and the Future of Warfare

Is a revolution in military affairs (RMA) achievable at the turn of the twenty-first century, and if so, does it necessitate a radical change in U.S. military equipment, combat structures, and warfighting doctrine? Or can the United States continue to make security policy and arrange Pentagon budgetary priorities in a more continuous and evolutionary way? In Technological Change and the future of Warfare, Michael O’Hanlon describes the RMA hypothesis now popular in U.S. defence circles, and places it in historical perspective by reviewing past military revolutions. He then attempts to evaluate the contemporary RMA hypothesis by surveying progress in a wide range of defence-related technologies and assessing their likely impact on the battlefields of 2020 and beyond.