The case of the arsenal ship: Innovative departure in the United States military.

摘要

The U.S. military is widely believed to be on the cusp of a discontinuous increase in military capability and effectiveness arising from simultaneous and mutually supportive change in technology, systems, operational methods, and military organizations. The phenomenon is frequently referred to as a Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA). It is expected that the RMA will require integration of numerous ISR capabilities, C4I systems, and precision weapons capabilities into a "system of systems." This study explores the process by which individual revolutionary advances (which might contribute to an RMA) occur in the U.S. military. The focus will be on a particular type of military innovation called an innovative departure.; The case selected for study is that of the Arsenal Ship, a joint U.S. Navy/Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) program that was canceled in 1997. The Arsenal Ship was the only case of military innovation to be attempted in the 1990s that clearly falls into the category of innovative departure. Had it been completed and fielded in numbers, its capability to apply heavy firepower so rapidly against an enemy force would likely have driven large scale organizational and doctrinal change---thus identifying it as an innovative departure.; Cold War theory on the process by which innovative departure occurs has five basic elements. The theory of barriers to innovative departure draws on Weber, Allison, Kurth, and Wilson and argues that barriers to innovative departure will be far higher than for other types of innovation. Barry Posen, Owen Cote, James Q. Wilson, and Stephen Rosen have offered four basic theories concerning forces that propel innovative departure.; The Arsenal Ship case study supports the theory of barriers to innovative departure and identifies visionary leadership as the primary driving force of the Arsenal Ship program. Two important implications emerging from the study are first that the policy maker who wishes to accelerate the RMA should take steps to increase the occurrence of visionary leaders in flag officer ranks. The second implication is that the theory and history of revolutionary innovation must be carefully considered in developing a strategy for accelerating the RMA.