Second-tier wars have often been proving grounds for new weapons and techniques. Thus, to cite just one example, the American Civil War was followed closely by military leaders in Europe.
Such is the case with the Russia/Ukraine war. That war has featured extensive use of unmanned aerial vehicles, i.e., drones. Many believe that the use of drones renders some of our own military doctrines obsolete. Fox News reports that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is on the case:
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has issued sweeping new orders to fast-track drone production and deployment, allowing commanders to procure and test them independently and requiring drone combat simulations across every branch of the military.
As part of an aggressive push to outpace Russia and China in unmanned warfare, “the Department’s bureaucratic gloves are coming off,” Hegseth wrote. “Lethality will not be hindered by self-imposed restrictions… Our major risk is risk-avoidance.”
Hegseth’s orders reclassify most drones as consumables:
The memos redefine small drones (Group 1 and 2) as consumables — not durable military assets — removing them from legacy tracking systems and simplifying acquisition.
I particularly like this:
For the first time, commanders with the rank of colonel or captain can independently procure and test drones, including 3D-printed prototypes and commercial-off-the-shelf systems, as long as they meet national security criteria.
There are a lot of very smart captains in the U.S. Army, and innovation is more likely to come from them than from political generals.
This willingness to reconsider and revise doctrine in response to new technologies is a welcome feature of the Trump administration’s Defense Department. Would the elderly and ossified bureaucracy of Joe Biden’s military establishment have been equally agile? I doubt it.
