Ten years ago, I deployed to a small Soviet-era training base in western Ukraine.
asserted
I → deploy → Ukraine
My unit was there to train the Ukrainian Armed Forces on NATO doctrine and introduce them to American weapons systems and intelligence assets.
asserted
unit → train → systems
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion was still six years away, but the Ukrainians knew something was coming.
asserted
something → know → ?
They were already rotating battalions east to fight in what they called the Anti-Terrorist Operation, defending their country against separatists whom Russia funded, trained, and, at times, fought beside.
asserted
Russia → rotate → times
They weren’t impressed by the somewhat outdated platoon-level surveillance drones we showed them.
asserted
we → impress → them
The Ukrainians were flying commercial drones, many of them bought off the shelf by volunteers and crowdfunding campaigns.
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many → fly → volunteers
They were cheaper and, in their view, more useful than anything we brought that day.
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we → bring → anything
As a young lieutenant, I wondered how the greatest military on Earth could be stuck with expensive, unreliable systems while our Ukrainian counterparts found a way to get better equipment faster and at a fraction of the price.
uncertain
counterparts → wonder → price
Our acquisition process took years to put a new system in the hands of our troops.
asserted
process → take → troops
Pentagon reforms are speeding up acquisition and cutting through the bureaucracy that stands between American innovation and our troops.
asserted
that → speed → innovation
American defense startups are moving from prototype to production at a speed the Pentagon hasn’t seen in generations.
asserted
Pentagon → move → generations
Buying power has been pushed down to the commanders who actually use the equipment.
asserted
who → buy → equipment
And in the war with Iran, American lives are being saved because we can now field equipment that works, hear from the troops using it, and keep improving it.
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that → save → it
In fact, over the summer, when Iran shot down an Army Apache helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz, two American pilots were stranded in the water.
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pilots → shoot → water
The boat that came to save them didn’t have a single human being on board.
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human → come → board
It was a Corsair, a 24-foot autonomous vessel built by Texas-based Saronic, which can travel 1,000 nautical miles on its own.
asserted
which → build → own
The Corsair reached the downed pilots within two hours, took them aboard, and carried them to a spot where a helicopter hoisted them to safety.
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helicopter → reach → safety
The Corsair has gone on offense, too.
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Corsair → go → offense
In July, three of them struck a submarine and ship maintenance facility at Iran’s Bandar Abbas naval base.
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three → strike → base
It was the first time American forces had used sea drones in combat.
asserted
forces → use → combat
Remarkably, the Corsair went from prototype to production in under a year, and Saronic has since delivered more than 300 of them.
asserted
Saronic → go → them
Our military is finally focused on fielding a new generation of autonomous systems that are cheaper and faster to build.
asserted
that → focus → systems
And when one is destroyed, we lose a machine instead of a service member.
asserted
we → destroy → machine
On land, we now have autonomous systems such as Merops interceptors, which protect soldiers from drone attacks.
asserted
which → have → attacks
Throughout the conflict, Iran has used Shahed attack drones to target U.S. forces and our Gulf partners.
asserted
Iran → use → forces
Originally deployed by Ukrainian forces to defend against Russian-launched drones, Merops interceptors cost less than half as much as the Shaheds they destroy.
asserted
they → deploy → Shaheds
Even more remarkably, when the conflict with Iran began, the Army acquired 13,000 Merops interceptors in just eight days.
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Army → begin → days
But what has changed isn’t just the technology.
asserted
changed → change → ?
It’s the urgency inside the Department of War to get things done.
asserted
things → ’ → War
You don’t have to agree with the war to recognize what our military has achieved, not just in developing new technology, but in testing it and getting it to forward units at the speed of war.
asserted
military → have → war
But our service members only reap the rewards when our processes move at the same pace.
asserted
processes → reap → pace
Jeremy Hunt, a West Point Military Academy graduate, served as a U.S. Army intelligence captain.
asserted
Hunt → serve → captain
A former Georgia congressional candidate, Jeremy is now a fellow at Hudson Institute, where he writes on national security, politics, and American life.
asserted
he → write → security
The Aporia
