A world-leading military strategist and an IDF insider explain the improbable success of the Israeli armed forces.
When the Israel Defense Forces was established in May 1948, it was small, poorly equipped, and already at war. Lacking sufficient weaponry or the domestic industrial base to produce it, the newborn military was forced to make do with whatever it could get its hands on. That spirit of improvisation carried the IDF to a decisive victory in the First Arab-Israeli War.
Today the same spirit has made the IDF the most powerful military in the Middle East and among the most capable in the world. In The Art of Military Innovation , Edward N. Luttwak and Eitan Shamir trace the roots of this astounding success. What sets the IDF apart, they argue, is its singular organizational structure. From its inception, it has been the world's only one-service military, encompassing air, naval, and land forces in a single institutional body. This unique structure, coupled with a young officer corps, allows for initiative from below. The result is a nimble organization inclined toward change rather than beholden to tradition.
The IDF has fostered some of the most significant advances in military technology of the past seventy years, from the first wartime use of drones to the famed Iron Dome missile defense system, and now the first laser weapon, Iron Beam. Less-heralded innovations in training, logistics, and human resources have been equally important. Sharing rich insights and compelling stories, Luttwak and Shamir reveal just what makes the IDF so agile and effective.

Luttwak, Edward N.; Shamir, Eitan

Belknap Press of Harvard University Press

United States, United States of America

sources:
urn:isbn:9780674660052

<p><strong>A world-leading military strategist and an IDF insiderexplain the improbable success of the Israeli armedforces.</strong> When the Israel Defense Forces was established inMay 1948, it was small, poorly equipped, and already at war.Lacking sufficient weaponry or the domestic industrial base toproduce it, the newborn military was forced to make do withwhatever it could get its hands on. That spirit of improvisationcarried the IDF to a decisive victory in the First Arab-IsraeliWar. Today the same spirit has made the IDF the most powerfulmilitary in the Middle East and among the most capable in theworld. In <em>The Art of Military Innovation</em>, Edward N.Luttwak and Eitan Shamir trace the roots of this astoundingsuccess. What sets the IDF apart, they argue, is its singularorganizational structure. From its inception, it has been theworld's only one-service military, encompassing air, naval, andland forces in a single institutional body. This unique structure,coupled with a young officer corps, allows for initiative frombelow. The result is a nimble organization inclined toward changerather than beholden to tradition. The IDF has fostered some of themost significant advances in military technology of the pastseventy years, from the first wartime use of drones to the famedIron Dome missile defense system, and now the first laser weapon,Iron Beam. Less-heralded innovations in training, logistics, andhuman resources have been equally important. Sharing rich insightsand compelling stories, Luttwak and Shamir reveal just what makesthe IDF so agile and effective.</p>

"Why is Israel's relatively small and low-budget military also the world's most innovative, technologically and logistically? Edward Luttwak and Eitan Shamir look to the IDF's unique structure: integrating army, air force, and navy in one service, under an officer class constantly refreshed by short tenures, the IDF is built for agility and change"-- Provided by publisher

2023-12-18