In the 1970s, the United States adopted an
“oset” strategy to counter Soviet numerical
superiority with qualitatively superior
weapons. Enabled
by information
technology, the U.S.
elded precision-
guided weapons,
advanced sensors
and command
and control links
with the intention
of allowing an
outnumbered but
qualitatively superior force to decisively
defeat a numerically superior foe. The eect
of these technologies was most vividly seen
in the Gulf War, when U.S. forces defeated
Saddam’s Soviet-equipped military in a 100-
hour war that saw an outsized casualty ratio
of 30-to-1.
The proliferation of information technology
and precision-guided weapons is turning
the tables on the United States, however, as
other nations will have access to the same
technologies that enabled a smaller force
to target a larger one with high precision.
Numbers may once again matter in warfare
in a way they have not since World War II,
when the U.S. and its allies overwhelmed
the Axis powers through greater mass.
Qualitative superiority will still be
important, but may not be sucient alone
to guarantee victory. Uninhabited systems
in particular have the potential to bring
mass back to the ght in a signicant way
by enabling the development of swarms of
low-cost platforms.
The Coming Swarm: The Cost-Imposing Value of Mass
By Paul Scharre
report preview - robotics on the battlefield part ii: the coming swarm
A SHIFTING STRATEGIC LANDSCAPE
Coming this Fall
“Robotics on the
Battleeld Part
II: The Coming
Swarm” will explore
how the robotics
revolution will
enable new ways of
bringing mass back
on the battleeld,
and the advantages
of swarming.
