War with the Osprey: Technology and the Limits of Vision in Warfare

Abstract

The development of tiltrotor aircraft, specifically the V-22, is analyzed as a revolutionary technology and is compared with the development of similar technology from military history. The role and relative importance of technology in modern warfare is discussed in the context of Clausewitzian theory. The inability of governments and military organizations to easily assimilate revolutionary innovations is highlighted. Factors such as doctrine and rigid organizational thinking, among other things, are identified as sources of resistance to innovation. As a result, revolutions in warfare, as exemplified by such innovative weapons as the machine gun, tank and airplane, have not been recognized and employed early in the development cycle. The V-22, also an innovation of historical proportions, has suffered a similar fate for remarkably similar reasons Marine, Capabilities, Osprey, V-22, Technology, Innovation, Doctrine, Clausewitz.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 16, 1994
Accession Number
ADA283492

Entities

People

  • James D. Hildreth

Organizations

  • Naval War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Counter WMD
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aircrafts
  • Civil War
  • First World War
  • International Organizations
  • Machine Guns
  • Military Doctrine
  • Military Operations
  • Military Organizations
  • National Security
  • Naval Warfare
  • Navy
  • New York
  • Tilt Rotor Aircraft
  • Transport Aircraft
  • United States
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Aerospace Engineering
  • Defense Technology Research and Development.
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.