Revolutionizing Warfare: A Look into the Future with Directed Energy Technologies | Essays (university) Ways of warfare

REVIEW ESSAYS

TECHNOLOGIES THAT MAY YET REVOLUTIONIZE WARFARE

William C. Martel

Beason, Doug. The E-Bomb: How America’s New Directed

Energy Weapons Will Change the Way Future Wars Will Be

Fought. Cambridge, Mass.: Da Capo, 2005. 256pp. $26

This work examines the development of directed-energy technologies and their

implications for future warfare. From the principle that the “first DE [directed

energy]weapons[will]...bemorerevolutionarythan the longbow, machine

gun, stealth airplane, cruise missile, nuclear sub-

marine, or nuclear bomb,” Beason argues that directed-

energy weapons represent the next development in the

“revolution in military affairs.” His thesis is that directed

energy represents “a completely new way of thinking, a

new way of employing both strategic and non-lethal

force, and interacting in the international community.”

If his analysis is correct, the age of kinetic weapons

(which destroy targets by explosions or impacts) will

be transcended by weapons based on lasers and

microwaves.

This book reviews the origins of directed-energy

weapons and how these weapons may alter warfare.

The observation that directed-energy technologies

and weapons are revolutionary is not new. The mili-

tary services have been developing these technologies

for decades. In fact, the U.S. Air Force and the Defense

Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) have

invested billions of dollars in directed-energy

William C. Martel, associate professor of international

security studies, is at the Fletcher School at Tufts Uni-

versity in Medford, Massachusetts. His research interests

are in the fields of international security, technology, policy

analysis, and governmental decision making. He received

his doctorate in international relations from the University

of Massachusetts (Amherst) and was a postdoctoral re-

search fellow at the Center for Science and International

Affairs at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. For-

merly a professor of national security affairs at the Naval

War College in Newport, Rhode Island, Dr. Martel held

the Alan Shepard Chair of Space Technology and Policy

Studies; directed a number of studies on space and policy

issues for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency

(DARPA), the U.S. Air Force, and the Office of Secretary

of Defense; and was a member of the professional staff of

the RAND Corporation in Washington, D.C. His publica-

tions include Strategic Nuclear War (1986), How to Stop a

War (1987), The Technological Arsenal (2001), and var-

ious scholarly articles. His latest book, Victory in War:

Foundations of Modern Military Policy, will be pub-

lished in the fall of 2006 by Cambridge University Press.

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REVIEW ESSAYS

TECHNOLOGIES THAT MAY YET REVOLUTIONIZE WARFARE

William C. Martel

Beason, Doug. The E-Bomb: How America’s New Directed Energy Weapons Will Change the Way Future Wars Will Be Fought. Cambridge, Mass.: Da Capo, 2005. 256pp. $

This work examines the development of directed-energy technologies and their implications for future warfare. From the principle that the “first DE [directed energy] weapons [will]... be more revolutionary than the longbow, machine gun, stealth airplane, cruise missile, nuclear sub- marine, or nuclear bomb,” Beason argues that directed- energy weapons represent the next development in the “revolution in military affairs.” His thesis is that directed energy represents “a completely new way of thinking, a new way of employing both strategic and non-lethal force, and interacting in the international community.” If his analysis is correct, the age of kinetic weapons (which destroy targets by explosions or impacts) will be transcended by weapons based on lasers and microwaves. This book reviews the origins of directed-energy weapons and how these weapons may alter warfare. The observation that directed-energy technologies and weapons are revolutionary is not new. The mili- tary services have been developing these technologies for decades. In fact, the U.S. Air Force and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) have invested billions of dollars in directed-energy

William C. Martel, associate professor of international security studies, is at the Fletcher School at Tufts Uni- versity in Medford, Massachusetts. His research interests are in the fields of international security, technology, policy analysis, and governmental decision making. He received his doctorate in international relations from the University of Massachusetts (Amherst) and was a postdoctoral re- search fellow at the Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. For- merly a professor of national security affairs at the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, Dr. Martel held the Alan Shepard Chair of Space Technology and Policy Studies; directed a number of studies on space and policy issues for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the U.S. Air Force, and the Office of Secretary of Defense; and was a member of the professional staff of the RAND Corporation in Washington, D.C. His publica- tions include Strategic Nuclear War (1986), How to Stop a War (1987), The Technological Arsenal (2001), and var- ious scholarly articles. His latest book, Victory in War: Foundations of Modern Military Policy, will be pub- lished in the fall of 2006 by Cambridge University Press. Naval War College Review, Autumn 2006, Vol. 59, No. 4

Martel and Beason: Review Essay—Technologies That May Yet Revolutionize WarfareFutur

Published by U.S. Naval War College Digital Commons, 2006

technologies. Since their invention in the early 1960s, lasers have been heralded as the preeminent technological advance in military capabilities, but the laser (often described as a “solution in search of a problem”) has only recently begun to match these expectations. In examining the development of directed-energy technologies and weapons, Beason pays particular attention to technical and en- gineering difficulties that complicate the task of translating energy into effective and practical weapons. Perhaps the most significant aspect of The E-Bomb is its detailed analysis of the history of the development of directed-energy technologies. We should ex- pect nothing less from Beason, whose work in the trenches of directed energy has given him firsthand knowledge of those who struggled to make it a reality. This history alone makes this book worthwhile. In contemporary terms, Beason argues convincingly that recent strides have made it possible for policy makers to believe that significant advances in mili- tary capabilities are truly on the immediate horizon. Perhaps the best and most visible example is the Airborne Laser (ABL), which is being developed by the Missile Defense Agency and the U.S. Air Force. Despite significant technical and engineering difficulties, the concept of using a laser on a 747 aircraft to destroy ballistic missiles will soon become an operational reality. At the other end of the spectrum, advances in microwave technology have put within reach the possi- bility of nonlethal weapons that disable, but do not harm, people. Although E-Bomb offers the reader the basis for understanding the techno- logical and operational forces that will determine whether directed-energy tech- nologies will change U.S. defense capabilities, the book is plagued by several weaknesses that diminish its overall value. First, the author shows a none-too-subtle enthusiasm for the merits of directed energy. As one would ex- pect, Beason has unmitigated, sometimes even contagious, zeal for these tech- nologies. Despite cautionary notes about significant technical and engineering problems to be overcome and a chapter on “The Problem with Directed Energy,” with its extensive discussions of the challenges in using directed energy for mili- tary purposes, Beason’s unabashed advocacy weakens the analysis. Having said that, there is still a balanced feel to these discussions; the reader is left with the sense that directed-energy technologies may yet revolutionize warfare—which is essentially the same conclusion, with notable amendments, that we would have drawn a decade or two ago. Second, the book is characterized by uneven discussions that shift between analyses of directed-energy issues using scientific language and casual discussions often bordering on the mundane. They range from “If the new photon is emit- ted in the same direction and has the same phase as the incoming photon, this is known as coherent emission,” to references to “Disco Duck,” “megapecking

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Partial preview of the text

Download Revolutionizing Warfare: A Look into the Future with Directed Energy Technologies and more Essays (university) Ways of warfare in PDF only on Docsity!

REVIEW ESSAYS

TECHNOLOGIES THAT MAY YET REVOLUTIONIZE WARFARE

William C. Martel