Occasionally, militaries during times of peace achieve major warfighting innovations. Terry Pierce calls these 'disruptive innovations'. The more common innovation phenomenon, however, has been that of integrating new technologies to help perform existing missions better and not change them radically. The author calls these 'sustaining innovations'. The central theme of this book is that senior leaders who have successfully managed disruptive innovations disguised them as sustaining in order to ensure their innovations survived. The recent innovation history suggests two interesting questions. First, how can senior military leaders achieve a disruptive innovation when they are heavily engaged around the world and they are managing sustaining innovations? Second, what have been the external sources of disruptive (and sustaining) innovations? This book is essential reading for professionals and students interested in national security, military history and strategic issues.

1. Introduction 2. Explaining Disruptive Innovations 3. US Marine Corps Innovation: The development of amphibious warfare 4. Post-World War II Marine Corps Disruptive Innovations I: Helicopter warfare 5. Post-World War II Marine Corps Disruptive Innovations II: MAGTF warfare, combined arms operations 6. US Marine Corps Inchoate Disruptive Innovation: Maneuver warfare 7. US Marine Corps Sustaining Innovations and Summary of Disruptive Marine Corps Cases 8. US Navy Sustaining Innovation: Continuous aim gunfire 9. US Navy Disruptive Innovation: Carrier Warfare 10. Disruptive Innovation: Japanese carrier warfare 11. US Navy Disruptive Innovation: CWC - Naval Combined Arms Warfare 12. US Navy Sustaining Innovation: Carrier battle group concept 13. US Navy Disruptive Innovation Aborted: Project 60 - Defensive Sea Control Warfare 14. US Navy Disruptive Innovation: Maritime Action Groups - Surface Land Attack Warfare 15. US Navy Disruptive Innovation: Tactical Collaborative Network and a summary of disruptive navy cases 16. Conclusion