America’s long-standing military dominance is being threatened amid the autonomous evolution, and without significant transformation, the United States could be left behind, according to former Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall.Kendall, who served as the secretary of the Air Force during the Biden administration and as the undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology, and logistics under President Barack Obama, outlined his concerns and what he believes is the appropriate pathway forward in his new book, Lethal Autonomy: The Future of Warfare Whether We Like It Or Not, which was released on Tuesday.“American military dominance is not a birthright, it’s not assured,” Kendall told the Washington Examiner. “You have to work to sustain it, and that means taking new technology and applying them as effectively as possible, and accepting the need for change.”
The book, which dives into the future of warfare regarding the growing use of autonomous systems with lethal objectives, originated as a project he undertook during his time in the Obama administration but did not complete before leaving the position. Specifically, it builds on the Third Offset Strategy, a DOD initiative that focused on range, autonomy, and quantity at cost, though Kendall admitted the group’s work was ultimately left unfinished.“I first became alarmed about this in 2010, 16 years ago. I came back to the government after being out for 15 years, and I saw what China was investing in from the intelligence we had at the time, and it was quite clear that they were building a force military designed to defeat American power projection,” Kendall warned. “If we weren’t in a race for military technological security with China, none of this would be hugely important. We could take our time, but we are in a race, and China is being very creative about their investments.”He describes what the future of warfare could look like far beyond the autonomous systems that have defined recent conflicts, such as drone usage in the Russia-Ukraine war and the U.S.-Iran war.Two Saildrone Spectre variants are built around different mission needs: Spectre Silent Endurance uses wing assist for extreme endurance and silent propulsion. Spectre Stealth Strike meets all mUSV requirements.
