Weaponizing the Predator UAV: Toward a New Theory of Weapon System Innovation

Although many authors have written about innovation in general, only three have developed models that focus on military innovation. Each one centers his model on what he considers the most significant dynamic of military innovation. One author claims that military innovation results from energetic civilian intervention into hidebound military organizations, another rejects this claim and argues that internal dynamics cause military services to innovate, while another claims that interservice rivalry and competition stimulates innovation. The problem with these models is not with their individual explanations, but that the practitioner often finds components of each of the models in the real world. This makes analyzing past innovations difficult, but poses a real dilemma for the decision maker who wants to stimulate innovation.