Can the United States stop a Chinese invasion of Taiwan by turning the island’s approaches into an “unmanned hellscape”? Can the “attritable” unmanned capabilities being acquired through the Pentagon’s Replicator initiative close an emerging gap in combat power with the People’s Liberation Army? Can the U.S. Air Force compensate for its shrinking force structure, maximize the effectiveness of its manned airframes, and achieve “affordable mass” with collaborative combat aircraft?Each of these efforts represents a wager that smaller, less expensive, and more numerous systems are critical to deterring or defeating Chinese aggression. They also reflect one side of a long-standing defense … Continue reading Quality Has a Quality All Its Own: The Virtual Attrition Value of Superior-Performance Weapons