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Lethal Autonomy: The Future of Warfare Whether We Like It or Not
288 pages, Hardcover
Published July 7, 2026
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Review of advance copy received from Author
Frank Kendall’s new book, Lethal Autonomy, is a detailed and thorough look at the future of warfare and the changes our military services must undertake now to prepare for that future.
Kendall has exactly the background necessary to lay all this out.
An engineer by trade and inclination, he held jobs that give him unique insight into the process of government development and acquisition of complex weapon systems as well as the policy and budget aspects of training and equipping our military services. His additional training as an attorney allows him to argue his “case” and lay out the facts in a way that is understandable to people not steeped in the business of the military.
Is there a more hide-bound system than how we develop and procure weapons and the means of delivering them? Probably not. There will be practitioners of that system who disagree with some of Kendall’s specific recommendations in each of the domains he covers: land, sea surface, sea subsurface, air, space and cyberspace. But he credibly argues that developments in technology are profoundly changing the way we will fight future wars.
And his prescience cannot be denied in his section on a potential sea surface mission of interest, “…to provide continuous control of key maritime terrain where we might not have proximate land access – choke points, for example. In this situation, we are trying to prevent an adversary from transiting an operationally significant waterway. We may also be trying to protect the transit of friendly shipping.” Sound like any real-world situations we’re facing right now?
If you’re interested in where the future of warfare is headed, this is the book for you.
Kendall has exactly the background necessary to lay all this out.
An engineer by trade and inclination, he held jobs that give him unique insight into the process of government development and acquisition of complex weapon systems as well as the policy and budget aspects of training and equipping our military services. His additional training as an attorney allows him to argue his “case” and lay out the facts in a way that is understandable to people not steeped in the business of the military.
Is there a more hide-bound system than how we develop and procure weapons and the means of delivering them? Probably not. There will be practitioners of that system who disagree with some of Kendall’s specific recommendations in each of the domains he covers: land, sea surface, sea subsurface, air, space and cyberspace. But he credibly argues that developments in technology are profoundly changing the way we will fight future wars.
And his prescience cannot be denied in his section on a potential sea surface mission of interest, “…to provide continuous control of key maritime terrain where we might not have proximate land access – choke points, for example. In this situation, we are trying to prevent an adversary from transiting an operationally significant waterway. We may also be trying to protect the transit of friendly shipping.” Sound like any real-world situations we’re facing right now?
If you’re interested in where the future of warfare is headed, this is the book for you.
Displaying 1 of 1 review