New Military Technologies and Changes in Warfare through the Ages

Technological change and innovation have occurred over many centuries, but have speeded up considerably since the Industrial Age. The development of new technologies has at times been caused by the requirement or them identified by practitioners, at times, it has preceded their practical applications. This is true also for military technologies, as this chapter explores with several examples. Diffusion of such military technologies has included learning from enemies. Some technologies have sparked such opposition that attempts were made to outlaw them, some successful, some less so. The success of such arms control and arms outlawing depends very much on the larger power-political context. In turn, military technologies influence and limit political decision-making, which in the era of hypersonic weapons may increasingly have to be a matter of pre-delegation of the authority to take decisions along principles agreed upon in advance, or even automated responses.