Next War

Reimagining How We Fight

By: John Antal

Narrated by: Gregory Abbey

An analysis of the lessons learned from recent wars, including the conflict in Ukraine, and how top war-fighting disrupters are transforming the methods of warfare.

The nature of war is constant change. We live in an era of exponential technological acceleration which is transforming how wars are waged. Today, the battlespace is transparent; multi-domain sensors can see anything, and long-range precision fire can target everything that is observed. Autonomous weapons can be unleashed into the battlespace and attack any target from above, hitting the weakest point of tanks and armored vehicles. The velocity of war is hyper-fast.

Battle shock is the operational, informational, and organizational paralysis induced by the rapid convergence of key disrupters in the battlespace. It occurs when the tempo of operations is so fast, and the means so overwhelming, that the enemy cannot think, decide, or act in time. Hit with too many attacks in multiple domains, all occurring simultaneously, the enemy is paralyzed. In short, the keys to decisive victory in war is to generate battle shock.

Imagine a peer fight against Communist China, a new war in Europe against a resurgent Russia, or a conflict against Iran in the Middle East. How can our forces survive an enemy-first strike in these circumstances? Can we adapt to the ever-accelerating tempo of war?

Will our forces be able to mask from enemy sensors? How will leaders execute command and control in a degraded communications environment? Will our command posts survive? Will our commanders see and understand what is happening in order to plan, decide, and act in real time? This book addresses these tough questions and more.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2023 John Antal (P)2023 Audible, Inc.

Thought provoking and a needed addition to the modern warfighters library

While thought provoking and interesting, the points and stories can be repetitive. However, it is overall a good outline of recent battles/wars and provides clear plans to adapt going forward.

Eye opening perspective that every American should read and act

Next War takes real-world events, examples of what could happen, and changes required to be successful in a peer-competition fight. Every American should read this book. This book captures existing technology and extrapolates lessons learned from wars between Azerbaijan and Armenia; Ukraine and Russia; and Israel and Hamas conflicts warning the reader that the time to take the threat of China, Russia, North Korea and Iran is now! We must learn from recent and ongoing conflicts around the world , adapt TTPs, purchase better equipment, invest in AI and human interaction and change how Military leaders conduct warfare in today’s modern world.

If the Department of Defense, Congress, Administration, and Military leader fail to take action, develop better tactics, develop foresight as a nation and invest the necessary money in Defense in order to deter our adversaries, we are going to be pulled into a conflict we are not currently prepared for. If we waste time, avoid the issue, and fail to adapt how our military fights now, the United States will pay in blood.

He provides nine key elements to mitigate the risk and things we can do to prevent being caught off guard. Highly recommend this book!!

New information to me on quantum sensor capabilites.

Good information. Story format covering the data presented helps visualization of concepts. Covers several possibilities of possible near-future conflict (does not site possibilities of "junk war" theory.