Weapon Of Choice: Small Arms And The Culture Of Military Innovation

by Matthew Ford

This book examines Western military technological innovation through the lens of developments in small arms during the twentieth century. These weapons have existed for centuries, appear to have matured only incrementally and might seem unlikely technologies for investigating the trajectory of military-technical change. Their relative simplicity, however, makes it easy to use them to map patterns of innovation within the military-industrial complex. Advanced technologies may have captured the military imagination, offering the possibility of clean and decisive outcomes, but it is the low technologies of the infantryman that can help us develop an appreciation for the dynamics of military-technical change. Tracing the path of innovation from battlefield to back office, and from industry to alliance partner, Ford develops insights into the way that small arms are socially constructed. He thereby exposes the mechanics of power across the military-industrial complex. This in turn
reveals that shifting power relations between soldiers and scientists, bureaucrats and engineers, have allowed the private sector to exploit infantry status anxiety and shape soldier weapon preferences. Ford's analysis allows us to draw wider conclusions about how military innovation works and what social factors frame Western military purchasing policy, from small arms to more sophisticated and expensive weapons.

Genres: Nonfiction, Military Fiction, History

264 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 2017

Reviews

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book about the social, bureaucratic, and political imperatives that go into all weapons procurement, although obviously this book's focus is on small arms development. This book fits in with plenty of other recent reads I've had that deal with the philosophy of technology or the social aspects of even so-called "hard science."

The only reason I gave this three stars instead of four is that I don't think the second half of the book holds up as well as the first half, for two reasons. First, the book becomes more and more focused solely on the British experience, which, while interesting, is of less value than the broader Anglo-American perspective of earlier chapters. Secondly, the book glosses over an event that I would think would be a central case study in the culture of military innovation and small arms development in general: the United States' decision to switch from a 7.62x51 to the 5.56x45 as it's standard rifle cartridge size. That the book spends a great deal of time explaining why the US chose the 7.62 in the first place (despite good evidence the round wasn't the right round for the future) and then even more time discussing the machinations of how the FN 5.56 vs the original US 5.56 became the NATO standard makes this omission even more puzzling.

Surely there was as much to learn about how culture, science, and bureaucratic politics come together to shape the "right" decision (or at least closer to right than the 7.62) as there is to learn about how the US made the "wrong" decision, and I felt it a crucial error to fail to apply the same sort of heuristics as used in the book's other case studies to one of the largest, most obviously influential developments in post-WWII small arms development.

I feel like if that pretty important decision had been analyzed and discussed, I'd have a fuller picture of the arguments being made, not to mention a better understanding of the history.

(Dr. Ford, if you read this, sorry for being "reviewer 2.")

[E. Kahn · Rating 1 out of 5]

Author is under the impression that FN Minimi (aka M249 in US service) is remarkably reliable and universally beloved by its operators, which it very notoriously is not. My best guess is that the writer only spoke to a handful of officers whose whole career is tied up with the narrative that while mistakes may have been made in the past, the British Army has only the very best gear in its armory today.

There's a bunch of stuff about theories of innovation and somesuch (and that's the reason I picked up this book in the first place) but it's not adequately explained and is hard to take seriously when the most basic facts about the hardware are so completely wrong.

[Dustin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A look at how political and military sociological rather than ergonomic, technological and economic arguments can drive weapon procurement. Innovative. The author needs to tackle the F35 as his magnus opus.

[Ayushman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found the theme of the uniquely US requirement of accurate marksmanship at long ranges to be interesting. From this book's description of the adoption and discarding of the M14, it is no surprise that the US Army has adopted the M7 with the .277 cartridge. It is a very American approach to seek to solve a combined arms problem with an extremely expensive service-wide adoption of a new calibre.