The Kill Chain

Featuring a New Afterword by the Author "The Kill Chain is a tour-de-force. Few people are as knowledgeable and experienced as Christian Brose in thinking about the intersection of emerging technology and national defense."

-Eric Schmidt, chairman of the US Department of Defense's Defense Innovation Board, former CEO of Google "If you read only one book to better understand the challenges facing the US military and the promise of emerging technologies, this should be it."

-Admiral James Stavridis, former Supreme Allied Commander at NATO and author of Sailing True North The United States is at grave risk of losing a future war. For generations of Americans, our country has been the world's dominant and uncontested military power. That old reality, however, is rapidly deteriorating. Our traditional sources of power are eroding amid the emergence of new technologies and the growing military threat posed by rivals such as China. As Christian Brose reveals in this urgent wake-up call, the future will be defined by artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, and other emerging technologies now poised to overturn the model of American defense. To survive and succeed, America must build a battle network of systems that enables people to rapidly understand threats, make decisions, and take military actions, the process known as "the kill chain." Examining threats from China, Russia, and elsewhere, The Kill Chain offers hope and, ultimately, insights on how America can apply advanced technologies to prevent war, deter aggression, and maintain peace. This fascinating, if disturbing, book confronts the existential risks on the horizon, charting a way for America's military to adapt and succeed--both the way we think and the way we fight.