In a new opinion in Foreign Affairs, CERL Affiliated Faculty Member Michael Horowitz argues that the United States’ outdated approach to weapons system development is putting it at a disadvantage in Iran and other possible future conflicts. He notes that the conflict has shown that while expensive, top-of-the-line “exquisite” weapons still have a place, the United States must also rearrange its development and training priorities to include cheap and effective “precise mass” systems. Such approaches have allowed Iran to largely stave off some of the biggest threats from Washington, even while running down the United States’ stock of expensive defense systems. Professor Horowitz also analyzes the asymmetrical costs of offense and defense in modern warfare and the challenges of adapting the United States’ inflexible military infrastructure to new ways of fighting.

Michael C. Horowitz is Director of Perry World House and Richard Perry Professor at the University of Pennsylvania. He is also a member of CERL’s Affiliated Faculty. Read his bio here.

The views expressed here are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of any organization or university.