How the U.S. Military Can Win the Innovation Race

Safi Bahcall, War on the Rocks

In 1922, two engineers at the U.S. Navy’s research lab just outside Washington, D.C. set up a radio transmitter and receiver on opposite sides of the Potomac. They were testing new ways for ships to communicate at sea. When a ship sailing down the Potomac disrupted their signal, they quickly realized their system could be used to detect enemy ships through fog or darkness. They submitted a proposal to develop the idea. The Navy...