October 5, 2024 • 29 mins
In this episode of Strategic Wisdom, Andrew Jose explores the evolving role of consumer-grade drones in modern conflict, with military tech expert and veteran Robert Cook.
Robert Cook, a decorated U.S. Army veteran and author, emphasizes the growing dangers that consumer technology brings to warfare. He discusses how these widely accessible drones, which can be purchased from any electronics store, are changing the face of conflict and could potentially flip the Gaza-Israel conflict overnight.
His insights raise critical questions about whether global military strategies are prepared for this new era, where everyday technology can threaten state-of-the-art hardware.
Tune in as Andrew Jose and Robert Cook delve into the strategic implications of consumer drones in warfare, what this means for future conflicts, and how militaries must rethink their defense tactics.With eye-opening facts and expert analysis, this episode offers a fascinating look at how modern warfare is being reshaped by technologies once considered harmless consumer products.
Robert Cook, a decorated U.S. Army veteran and author, emphasizes the growing dangers that consumer technology brings to warfare. He discusses how these widely accessible drones, which can be purchased from any electronics store, are changing the face of conflict and could potentially flip the Gaza-Israel conflict overnight.
His insights raise critical questions about whether global military strategies are prepared for this new era, where everyday technology can threaten state-of-the-art hardware.
Tune in as Andrew Jose and Robert Cook delve into the strategic implications of consumer drones in warfare, what this means for future conflicts, and how militaries must rethink their defense tactics.With eye-opening facts and expert analysis, this episode offers a fascinating look at how modern warfare is being reshaped by technologies once considered harmless consumer products.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
In an era of rapid technological evolution, consumer grade drones
are shree shaping modern warfare. Military tech expert Robert Cook
warrants that swarms of these inexpensive drones can slip past
sophisticated defense systems, exposing critical vulnerabilities in the high tech
(00:20):
military defense systems that we have in Western armed forces.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Today.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
On Strategic Wisdom with Andrew jose I and Cook will
explore how this readily available off the shelf technology is
shaping the battlefield and what it means for the future
of military strategy. Thank you for tuning in to Strategic
Wisdom with Andrew jose Let's head trade to the interview.
(01:20):
Robert Cook is a multifaceted individual whose life spanned several
roles eagle scout, shooter, soldier, entrepreneur, venture capitalist, vintner, and
now celebrated author. A United States Army Vietnam veteran, Cook
achieved the rank of major and was awarded the Bronze
Star Medal and the Army Commendation Medal. His distinguished military
(01:44):
service also earned him the Parachuters Badge. In nineteen eighty seven,
Cook was honored as the KPMG Entrepreneur of the Year
for the Metropolitan Washington DC Region, recognizing his significant contributions
to the business world. Cook This literary acclaim includes being
the author of the only fiction book on Bill Gates.
(02:06):
Summer twenty thirteen reading list, Robert Cook, great to have you,
Welcome to the show.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
Thank you, good to be here.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
How would you say, Robert, the access of commercial drones
has changed the modern battlefield? How serious of a threat
we are talking? How serious of a threat they are
to military equipment?
Speaker 2 (02:30):
Well, I take that unmanned vehicles are going to change
in nature or working. You know, we spend a lot
of money trying to pick up a helicopter pilot. Fighter
pilots are bailed out when we're using drones. The drugs
are custing five of the ours apaces nobody on them,
(02:52):
So we can use a lot more. We can arm
them put the more dangerous places. So there's a lot
of impact of the commercial round space in modern warfare,
and it's going to get a lot bigger. I see
that the gerald Forde gone to the golf, and the
(03:13):
reason that that modern carrier would go to the golf
there's a laser on it that it will shoot down
a thousand drones in ten minutes, that two inner rounds.
That's I talked about the first of the laser weapons
who was trying to destroy the bonds back in twenty fourteen,
(03:36):
and they've got a long way since theven So it's
drones and being able to defend his drones because I
don't believe something like the iron dobe you can do
much against thousands of drones. And that's probably why the
ford is in the area.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
Over the course of recent years, we've seen the resurgence
of cheap technology, lightweight, cheap technology fielded against high tech
weapons on the battlefield. Now, whether in the case of
Iran this comes in the form of small boats used
to harass larger ships that are characteristic of the equipment
(04:16):
of the United States Navy. With the hu Thi's you
have land to see missiles being fired, but also you
have small boats and helicopters used to board large ships.
How would this revolution of cheaper technology being widely available
(04:38):
pose a serious threat to the to conventional armies that
field more sophisticated equipment. And if you were to list
out the the main challenges that come with it, whether
it's cost wise or the attacked conventional army or any
(05:00):
other way. How would you put it?
Speaker 2 (05:03):
Well, I agree that the inexpensive commercial technology is revolutionary.
We're revolutionizing warfare. As we mentioned earlier, the drones, the
unarmed aerial vehicles are a big deal, and they're cheap.
And if we shoot a million dollar tomahawk, can a
(05:26):
twenty five dollars missile, that's a that's a bad trade.
They can hold out as long as we can, so
we didn't worry about that. And I suspect that defense
is more complicated than offense because you can't get it
wrong once when you do your down and you're afraid
(05:47):
of this what Israel's trying to figure it out to
stay out of One thing.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
One thing that is characteristic, i'd say of the West
Earn way of making weaponry is we focus a lot
on qualitative, the qualitative aspect of weaponry. We focus on
quality over quantity. And would you say that it's time
we shift our strategy to a quantity based manufacturing for
(06:21):
the defense industry approach?
Speaker 2 (06:26):
Probably not. I take the example that it used earlier
of the laser weapon on the carrier Gerald Ford. How
barbs one is well that was first investigated in twenty ten,
deployed in twenty fourteen, and ten years later, it might
be used in combat. And if we can share down
(06:52):
anything in the air for juiter miles, including twenty five dollars.
Are drones you lose, well, you'll never get close enough
to do any damage. And we can send things in
to do whatever damage we want, including unarmed drones. When
(07:15):
we think about what people might do in Levan as well,
if they're getting their drones supply from Iran, and Iran
is building drone weapons for the Russians. One of the
things they're getting to return in Iran is high tich
(07:38):
very well engineered. Tells us about how do you fight
US weapons systems, defense weapons systems. So they've got harm missiles,
you know, I speed fly down the radar beam missiles
that don't really complicate things. So it's a aim as always.
(08:02):
First side builds a tank, inside builds a tank, next
side builds a jet fighter, this side builds a jet fighter.
How we're having to deal with unarmed, unmanned not unarmed
unmanned aerial vehicles see vehicles, your own boats. So it's
it's interesting to watch I think Israel's making I made
(08:26):
a case of my book, I think Israel making existential
bet then on its bank.
Speaker 1 (08:34):
But when it comes to the laser, Bob, doesn't the
laser itself become expensive? What are the economics of economics
of using the lasers you talk of, Because lasers rely
on a lot of energy, So in your would it
still be an effective option if we were to mount
these lasers on different military installations and different boats, we
(08:59):
still have to find and energy, right, So how would
you say that we could do that in a cost
effective way?
Speaker 2 (09:07):
Well, for about twenty years of the laser technology, and
you're right, they're power hugs. The four as a huge
don't get a reactor on it, and you can supply
all the talent power that anybody needs first as long
as anybody needs it. That's less true of the power destroyer.
(09:28):
So yeah, it's it's evolving. But I think the battlefield
the challenge, as you pointed out, is be able to
do all this cost effectively and one of the reasons
that we won the Cold War, but we just outspent
to Russians. They couldn't keep up. Well, we'll say that
(09:50):
with the Chinese, but they are pretty good at building
small sheep electronically these s security devicens and they'll get
it around the build their weapon systems that wet Bob.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
I want to steer the conversation towards the way our
military industrial complex is structured here in the United States.
Now with the Chinese, they have a large network of
factories that produce weapons. Of course, there they do not
necessarily have the same private defense company structure that we
(10:30):
do have here in Washington with Raytheon and the whole
oligopoli there. But would you say that if we are
to produce cheaper weaponry on a large scale with a
qualitative edge, of course, shouldn't we reform the way we
interact with the defense industrial complex to open up open
(10:52):
it up to competitions so more players can enter in.
Because I mean, from my observations, I know you're more
specialized in this, being someone that's been in the defense
industry and worked in the military for a while. It appears,
at least from my vantage point, that as long as
there are these a few major players, we're going to
(11:15):
be constrained by their own manufacturing capabilities than if there
were several players in the defense industry and everyone has
their own little factory and produces goods for the US military.
What are your thoughts on that, Bob.
Speaker 2 (11:30):
Well, I guess one hand, I'd say you're preaching to
the choir. I think that the procurement system is fairly
well broken. And you say that manifested in but a
few more sole source on tracks being let's your dart
bend DoD getting the smaller players in. But in general
(11:51):
yet some of the gluckeed they have twenty years of
contracts deep for the bowels of that defensive our and
the goodness is there ethinic going there aren't working, but
it's dangerous and they're only what ten of them? It
isn't many. It's it's lockheat and bowing and in Northrope
(12:16):
and a bunch of others rock Wall, I suppose. And
the only subs are being built Newport News by one
company in it. So it's a good company. They're doing good.
They're in trouble recruiting everything good buildum someplace else and
recruit is here I don't know, specialized in the welders
(12:37):
in that comings up. But yeah, there is room in
the apartment events for more soul searching. And then you
have to get ready through the bubbling of Congress. It
makes it harder. So I don't know what's the right
answer has been. I agree with it the procurement systems.
(13:00):
Dear dear bro.
Speaker 1 (13:06):
What are other forms of commercial technologies that other than
drones that you see as is going to be decisive
in conflicts in the near future or in a couple
of years after the near future.
Speaker 3 (13:24):
Well, one of the things that I mentioned in my
last two books is Paul's which was about the US
preta true attacking Iran, new in the BODI, which is
about Israel cover of Skiddy West.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
Back then, we're seeing all that contrue that, but stop
remind me of the questions.
Speaker 1 (13:55):
So the question I wanted to ask is what other
commercial technologies other than drones are going to be decisive
in future conflicts? Other than drones?
Speaker 2 (14:06):
That is, they technology involved in electromagnetic pulse, which I've
covered in three or four of my books of the
Couch series, is miniatureizing it. It started out as an
area weapon, and that's the way North Rareia sees it today,
(14:29):
where they off a two mega ten nucover Nebraska and
they shed to lights out in the whole country, and
they can do that. The trick is to get it
here and they have the technology to set it off. Uh,
we worry about that. So EMP is being in the postbook.
(14:54):
EMP was on tombawfs vessels that hooever and when a
burst of different parts of Iran and screw up their
electrical infrastructure, and Bowling demonstrated that twenty thirteen, fourteen fifteen.
(15:16):
So we don't know where they are or we are
in the case that we need it, and we don't
know where anybody else is in the case that they did.
So there is this dan scowing on of trying to
get the right mix of chief technology and well researched
expensive technology in the way that you get an advantage
(15:39):
on the battlefield these days, you get an advantage and
really to keep it for three days, you know, if
I worry about stuff that's going on right now in
that if Iran and hezbelah and Allah said the holies
(16:02):
managed to overcome that, it's really defensive to point they
can destroying the air force on the ground, I mean
it's over. They would take a week to take set
with us there and there would be what'sti It is
all over as you're getting revenge for what they perceive
(16:23):
is FC six years and that behavior part of the
israelis since forty eight.
Speaker 1 (16:34):
That we'll say, but with electromagnetic pulls? Is there a reason?
Well before that? How does the technology work? So, as
someone who's inexposed to it, I wanted to ask you,
does it work like they did designate this snooke on
(16:56):
top of a city and does it only fry the
electronics that are within that are near the area of explosion?
And then when people bring electronics from areas that were
unexposed from the initial explosion, would they still work in
the area where that electromagnetic field weapon was detonated? Or
(17:21):
does it create this dead zone?
Speaker 2 (17:23):
How does it work? Well, it creates the zone. I
think how big that zone is depends on the yield
of the weapon. And originally that was a nuke, so
they could create a awful lot of pulse where the
energy released and the nuclear weapon, and now it's a
(17:44):
smaller ones that if you fly a tama I'll cover
an area and you again dead date the weapon where
you want. It will just seek out chilicon and copper
and the area where it was designed to target. So
you can bring new equipment in and work. But you
(18:04):
have the all the charging stations, all the car wiring,
all the household wire has to be very replaced. It's
burned forever. Well, well that's just just fried. It's really fried.
So and the biggest two things that three things that
the electromatic magnetic pulse likes. This copper silicon, that kind
(18:30):
of thing. And how could yeah go ahead, bump and
with copper and silicon, you've just taken out a whole
bunch of stuff in this world because all the chips
and phones, all the chips and anything go dead. Your
(18:52):
cars go dead because the wiring got fried. How big
is the area depends on the size of the pulse.
Now I write fiction, so I can make it as
big as I need. And this last book, they're taking rocks.
We were three D printed by the resident genius to
(19:14):
create a be blessed with certain vector and wid and
so you can do anything. What But that's fixtion. I
don't know that we're down there. I don't know that
we're not. Now what I wrote about pulse and paulse
about the laser of Ponts Destroyer, I didn't know where
(19:37):
it went from there. Now you know, I found it
out for this book. But all that stuff is in
the Internet. But to look you up.
Speaker 1 (19:48):
In an age of where, in an age where we're
getting closer to the use of electromagnetic pulse weapons, how
dangerous would you say is our current reliance on electronics?
And I'm not talking about consumer reliance on electronics. I'm
talking about the military's reliance on sophisticated satellite networks on
(20:14):
electronics especially. Would this eventually come to bite us in
the back as people tend to lose skills and navigation
by looking at a map alone. And how do you
think that the electronization and the the increasing reliance and
(20:37):
technology on the part of the US military would would
spell doom for the United States when there's an EMP
weapon used? And how can we how can we make
the defense establishment resistant to any EMP weapon? What technology
(20:59):
should we be taking you out or replacing in anticipation
of any MP attack on the homeland?
Speaker 2 (21:07):
Well, I take fat military sits got its offensive weapons
prete well shielding against a strike. You're gonna lose trucks
and things like that that aren't shielding. But the main
battle says seas you're all pretty well shielding. I think
they claim they are and that's because the electromagnetic pulse
(21:30):
a byproduct a little nuclear blast. You know, when they
popped a nuke and Bikini a toll at nineteen forty
eight or fifty or whatever it was, it turned the
lights out sixty hundred miles away in Honolulu. And so yeah,
we're exposed. But our biggest spots exposure, I believe, strategically,
(21:55):
is in a domestic grid. This is old fashioned, not
protect that easy to best with. I think we have
a lot of exposure. There's some security exposure, and they're
domestic electric crid machines that make artillery shelves, aren't art.
Speaker 1 (22:20):
Before we finish our conversation, Bob, could you share with
our audience about your books and what's like the main
plotline of them and how what inspired you to write
your most recent books and any books that you're planning
to write in the future.
Speaker 2 (22:42):
Sure, I've written for of the what I call the
Coach series that gave political national security thrillers. I looked
into politics, I looked at military technology. Well, I don't
know what I need to tell my story to make
it up because it's siction. And what I made of
in my life book was the shrinking of the MP
(23:06):
had a fusible oh Direcsian weapon and left room and
new books for it. Me trunk even further. And when
I started the first one, I was in Vietnam and
we were on a tourist trip in nineteen ninety sixty
(23:27):
ninety eight, and I was in the bowl of a
bruise ship and heading out of Saigo and river up
the such shine of seed in the Dang and we
got into a typhoon. It was sixty dot seas forty
not seas across forty foot bows across waves across about.
(23:51):
It was really an ugly storm. And I don't get
seasick that everybody else in a dug on boat did.
So I would go up every day, put my head out,
get the key to the bar and get out and
the two glass of wine and take the key back
and get back to my room. Pretty quickly I figured
out that it is something you do. So I wrote
my first book, and it was about a.
Speaker 3 (24:15):
Kid who.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
Got in trouble in high school and cut stuck in
the Marine corps quickly, and then into let's see how
Special Option became a explosives expert and a martial arts
expert in the years he was there, so everything flowed
from there. The second book was about Yemen where the
(24:41):
Hooties are now and a nerve gas attack in Dallas
Stadium and how you handle that. And the third one
was this Aron suffers a pretty intive attack by the
United States because they're about to pop up and they
are delivered EMP nuke over Israel. And Israel is a
(25:06):
country size of New Jersey and if you get TELEVIV
and Ephen Jerusalem, you get most of it. Idio Orshiba maybe,
but that's a small place to try to deliver a
weapon like that. So we helped the Israelis and they
(25:31):
defeated that attacking. In the last book that I've done
so far, as it's called The Mahdi, The Mahdi in
Whistle Life sort of the second coming of Muhammad. And
by this time my protagonist has at a gras you
(25:51):
graduate degree in Islamic studies for several years and he's
a kind of guy that can be effective in the
WISSLM world. And is business is a Bedouin business. He
lives in Tangier, was an error from his grandfather, and
he gets elected by the Vedouin tribes, although there are
(26:15):
a million freight across the Middle East from no real
government of their own to try to recover the Israeli
confiscation of Westbac arms, which is going on right now.
It's in the news. They're attacking West Bank settlers as
we speak, because they're getting too active in their support
of their Palos city and brethren, and that that's going
(26:40):
to be a topic of some merit for some time.
And I think that with that last book, I made
a case that the city is trapped, which was in
the Pelivinesian Wars, and the cities are general and they
determined that Sparta figured out that Israel was up and
(27:04):
coming and they were going to catch up to them,
and if they didn't attack them now, they wouldn't be
able to in a few years. And Israel doesn't believe that.
I don't think or they would be doing these differently
than they are to dead. But I make that case
of my book for the traps closing. In ten years,
they won't have the nuclear agemity the day of the day,
(27:28):
they would have the communications of the GEMNY the of
the day. They probably won't be as strong relatively as
they are today, as the best army in the world
meant for man. So they've taken a chance on their existence.
And I think it's because they have Thug as prime minister.
(27:50):
And maybe I'm wrong, and I'm watching with a great
deal of interest right now. I think that the Uranians
and HESBA would be crazy to try to tack up
a thousand drug an hour. It's for you can sure
dun Dead does so your letter, those.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
Characters that you got, Thank you so much, Bob. Ladies
and gentlemen, you just listen to military tech expert Robert Cook.
Robert Cook, thank you so much for your time.
Speaker 2 (28:24):
Thank you really jes to speak, Thank you very much.
Speaker 4 (28:27):
Strategic Wisdom with Andrew Jose is an initiative of Andrew
Jose Media. The views expressed by guests on this show
do not necessarily represent the official positions and opinions of
Andrew Jose, Andrew Jose Media, and Strategic Wisdom.
Speaker 5 (28:45):
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In an era of rapid technological evolution, consumer grade drones
are shree shaping modern warfare. Military tech expert Robert Cook
warrants that swarms of these inexpensive drones can slip past
sophisticated defense systems, exposing critical vulnerabilities in the high tech
(00:20):
military defense systems that we have in Western armed forces.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Today.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
On Strategic Wisdom with Andrew jose I and Cook will
explore how this readily available off the shelf technology is
shaping the battlefield and what it means for the future
of military strategy. Thank you for tuning in to Strategic
Wisdom with Andrew jose Let's head trade to the interview.
(01:20):
Robert Cook is a multifaceted individual whose life spanned several
roles eagle scout, shooter, soldier, entrepreneur, venture capitalist, vintner, and
now celebrated author. A United States Army Vietnam veteran, Cook
achieved the rank of major and was awarded the Bronze
Star Medal and the Army Commendation Medal. His distinguished military
(01:44):
service also earned him the Parachuters Badge. In nineteen eighty seven,
Cook was honored as the KPMG Entrepreneur of the Year
for the Metropolitan Washington DC Region, recognizing his significant contributions
to the business world. Cook This literary acclaim includes being
the author of the only fiction book on Bill Gates.
(02:06):
Summer twenty thirteen reading list, Robert Cook, great to have you,
Welcome to the show.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
Thank you, good to be here.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
How would you say, Robert, the access of commercial drones
has changed the modern battlefield? How serious of a threat
we are talking? How serious of a threat they are
to military equipment?
Speaker 2 (02:30):
Well, I take that unmanned vehicles are going to change
in nature or working. You know, we spend a lot
of money trying to pick up a helicopter pilot. Fighter
pilots are bailed out when we're using drones. The drugs
are custing five of the ours apaces nobody on them,
(02:52):
So we can use a lot more. We can arm
them put the more dangerous places. So there's a lot
of impact of the commercial round space in modern warfare,
and it's going to get a lot bigger. I see
that the gerald Forde gone to the golf, and the
(03:13):
reason that that modern carrier would go to the golf
there's a laser on it that it will shoot down
a thousand drones in ten minutes, that two inner rounds.
That's I talked about the first of the laser weapons
who was trying to destroy the bonds back in twenty fourteen,
(03:36):
and they've got a long way since theven So it's
drones and being able to defend his drones because I
don't believe something like the iron dobe you can do
much against thousands of drones. And that's probably why the
ford is in the area.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
Over the course of recent years, we've seen the resurgence
of cheap technology, lightweight, cheap technology fielded against high tech
weapons on the battlefield. Now, whether in the case of
Iran this comes in the form of small boats used
to harass larger ships that are characteristic of the equipment
(04:16):
of the United States Navy. With the hu Thi's you
have land to see missiles being fired, but also you
have small boats and helicopters used to board large ships.
How would this revolution of cheaper technology being widely available
(04:38):
pose a serious threat to the to conventional armies that
field more sophisticated equipment. And if you were to list
out the the main challenges that come with it, whether
it's cost wise or the attacked conventional army or any
(05:00):
other way. How would you put it?
Speaker 2 (05:03):
Well, I agree that the inexpensive commercial technology is revolutionary.
We're revolutionizing warfare. As we mentioned earlier, the drones, the
unarmed aerial vehicles are a big deal, and they're cheap.
And if we shoot a million dollar tomahawk, can a
(05:26):
twenty five dollars missile, that's a that's a bad trade.
They can hold out as long as we can, so
we didn't worry about that. And I suspect that defense
is more complicated than offense because you can't get it
wrong once when you do your down and you're afraid
(05:47):
of this what Israel's trying to figure it out to
stay out of One thing.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
One thing that is characteristic, i'd say of the West
Earn way of making weaponry is we focus a lot
on qualitative, the qualitative aspect of weaponry. We focus on
quality over quantity. And would you say that it's time
we shift our strategy to a quantity based manufacturing for
(06:21):
the defense industry approach?
Speaker 2 (06:26):
Probably not. I take the example that it used earlier
of the laser weapon on the carrier Gerald Ford. How
barbs one is well that was first investigated in twenty ten,
deployed in twenty fourteen, and ten years later, it might
be used in combat. And if we can share down
(06:52):
anything in the air for juiter miles, including twenty five dollars.
Are drones you lose, well, you'll never get close enough
to do any damage. And we can send things in
to do whatever damage we want, including unarmed drones. When
(07:15):
we think about what people might do in Levan as well,
if they're getting their drones supply from Iran, and Iran
is building drone weapons for the Russians. One of the
things they're getting to return in Iran is high tich
(07:38):
very well engineered. Tells us about how do you fight
US weapons systems, defense weapons systems. So they've got harm missiles,
you know, I speed fly down the radar beam missiles
that don't really complicate things. So it's a aim as always.
(08:02):
First side builds a tank, inside builds a tank, next
side builds a jet fighter, this side builds a jet fighter.
How we're having to deal with unarmed, unmanned not unarmed
unmanned aerial vehicles see vehicles, your own boats. So it's
it's interesting to watch I think Israel's making I made
(08:26):
a case of my book, I think Israel making existential
bet then on its bank.
Speaker 1 (08:34):
But when it comes to the laser, Bob, doesn't the
laser itself become expensive? What are the economics of economics
of using the lasers you talk of, Because lasers rely
on a lot of energy, So in your would it
still be an effective option if we were to mount
these lasers on different military installations and different boats, we
(08:59):
still have to find and energy, right, So how would
you say that we could do that in a cost
effective way?
Speaker 2 (09:07):
Well, for about twenty years of the laser technology, and
you're right, they're power hugs. The four as a huge
don't get a reactor on it, and you can supply
all the talent power that anybody needs first as long
as anybody needs it. That's less true of the power destroyer.
(09:28):
So yeah, it's it's evolving. But I think the battlefield
the challenge, as you pointed out, is be able to
do all this cost effectively and one of the reasons
that we won the Cold War, but we just outspent
to Russians. They couldn't keep up. Well, we'll say that
(09:50):
with the Chinese, but they are pretty good at building
small sheep electronically these s security devicens and they'll get
it around the build their weapon systems that wet Bob.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
I want to steer the conversation towards the way our
military industrial complex is structured here in the United States.
Now with the Chinese, they have a large network of
factories that produce weapons. Of course, there they do not
necessarily have the same private defense company structure that we
(10:30):
do have here in Washington with Raytheon and the whole
oligopoli there. But would you say that if we are
to produce cheaper weaponry on a large scale with a
qualitative edge, of course, shouldn't we reform the way we
interact with the defense industrial complex to open up open
(10:52):
it up to competitions so more players can enter in.
Because I mean, from my observations, I know you're more
specialized in this, being someone that's been in the defense
industry and worked in the military for a while. It appears,
at least from my vantage point, that as long as
there are these a few major players, we're going to
(11:15):
be constrained by their own manufacturing capabilities than if there
were several players in the defense industry and everyone has
their own little factory and produces goods for the US military.
What are your thoughts on that, Bob.
Speaker 2 (11:30):
Well, I guess one hand, I'd say you're preaching to
the choir. I think that the procurement system is fairly
well broken. And you say that manifested in but a
few more sole source on tracks being let's your dart
bend DoD getting the smaller players in. But in general
(11:51):
yet some of the gluckeed they have twenty years of
contracts deep for the bowels of that defensive our and
the goodness is there ethinic going there aren't working, but
it's dangerous and they're only what ten of them? It
isn't many. It's it's lockheat and bowing and in Northrope
(12:16):
and a bunch of others rock Wall, I suppose. And
the only subs are being built Newport News by one
company in it. So it's a good company. They're doing good.
They're in trouble recruiting everything good buildum someplace else and
recruit is here I don't know, specialized in the welders
(12:37):
in that comings up. But yeah, there is room in
the apartment events for more soul searching. And then you
have to get ready through the bubbling of Congress. It
makes it harder. So I don't know what's the right
answer has been. I agree with it the procurement systems.
(13:00):
Dear dear bro.
Speaker 1 (13:06):
What are other forms of commercial technologies that other than
drones that you see as is going to be decisive
in conflicts in the near future or in a couple
of years after the near future.
Speaker 3 (13:24):
Well, one of the things that I mentioned in my
last two books is Paul's which was about the US
preta true attacking Iran, new in the BODI, which is
about Israel cover of Skiddy West.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
Back then, we're seeing all that contrue that, but stop
remind me of the questions.
Speaker 1 (13:55):
So the question I wanted to ask is what other
commercial technologies other than drones are going to be decisive
in future conflicts? Other than drones?
Speaker 2 (14:06):
That is, they technology involved in electromagnetic pulse, which I've
covered in three or four of my books of the
Couch series, is miniatureizing it. It started out as an
area weapon, and that's the way North Rareia sees it today,
(14:29):
where they off a two mega ten nucover Nebraska and
they shed to lights out in the whole country, and
they can do that. The trick is to get it
here and they have the technology to set it off. Uh,
we worry about that. So EMP is being in the postbook.
(14:54):
EMP was on tombawfs vessels that hooever and when a
burst of different parts of Iran and screw up their
electrical infrastructure, and Bowling demonstrated that twenty thirteen, fourteen fifteen.
(15:16):
So we don't know where they are or we are
in the case that we need it, and we don't
know where anybody else is in the case that they did.
So there is this dan scowing on of trying to
get the right mix of chief technology and well researched
expensive technology in the way that you get an advantage
(15:39):
on the battlefield these days, you get an advantage and
really to keep it for three days, you know, if
I worry about stuff that's going on right now in
that if Iran and hezbelah and Allah said the holies
(16:02):
managed to overcome that, it's really defensive to point they
can destroying the air force on the ground, I mean
it's over. They would take a week to take set
with us there and there would be what'sti It is
all over as you're getting revenge for what they perceive
(16:23):
is FC six years and that behavior part of the
israelis since forty eight.
Speaker 1 (16:34):
That we'll say, but with electromagnetic pulls? Is there a reason?
Well before that? How does the technology work? So, as
someone who's inexposed to it, I wanted to ask you,
does it work like they did designate this snooke on
(16:56):
top of a city and does it only fry the
electronics that are within that are near the area of explosion?
And then when people bring electronics from areas that were
unexposed from the initial explosion, would they still work in
the area where that electromagnetic field weapon was detonated? Or
(17:21):
does it create this dead zone?
Speaker 2 (17:23):
How does it work? Well, it creates the zone. I
think how big that zone is depends on the yield
of the weapon. And originally that was a nuke, so
they could create a awful lot of pulse where the
energy released and the nuclear weapon, and now it's a
(17:44):
smaller ones that if you fly a tama I'll cover
an area and you again dead date the weapon where
you want. It will just seek out chilicon and copper
and the area where it was designed to target. So
you can bring new equipment in and work. But you
(18:04):
have the all the charging stations, all the car wiring,
all the household wire has to be very replaced. It's
burned forever. Well, well that's just just fried. It's really fried.
So and the biggest two things that three things that
the electromatic magnetic pulse likes. This copper silicon, that kind
(18:30):
of thing. And how could yeah go ahead, bump and
with copper and silicon, you've just taken out a whole
bunch of stuff in this world because all the chips
and phones, all the chips and anything go dead. Your
(18:52):
cars go dead because the wiring got fried. How big
is the area depends on the size of the pulse.
Now I write fiction, so I can make it as
big as I need. And this last book, they're taking rocks.
We were three D printed by the resident genius to
(19:14):
create a be blessed with certain vector and wid and
so you can do anything. What But that's fixtion. I
don't know that we're down there. I don't know that
we're not. Now what I wrote about pulse and paulse
about the laser of Ponts Destroyer, I didn't know where
(19:37):
it went from there. Now you know, I found it
out for this book. But all that stuff is in
the Internet. But to look you up.
Speaker 1 (19:48):
In an age of where, in an age where we're
getting closer to the use of electromagnetic pulse weapons, how
dangerous would you say is our current reliance on electronics?
And I'm not talking about consumer reliance on electronics. I'm
talking about the military's reliance on sophisticated satellite networks on
(20:14):
electronics especially. Would this eventually come to bite us in
the back as people tend to lose skills and navigation
by looking at a map alone. And how do you
think that the electronization and the the increasing reliance and
(20:37):
technology on the part of the US military would would
spell doom for the United States when there's an EMP
weapon used? And how can we how can we make
the defense establishment resistant to any EMP weapon? What technology
(20:59):
should we be taking you out or replacing in anticipation
of any MP attack on the homeland?
Speaker 2 (21:07):
Well, I take fat military sits got its offensive weapons
prete well shielding against a strike. You're gonna lose trucks
and things like that that aren't shielding. But the main
battle says seas you're all pretty well shielding. I think
they claim they are and that's because the electromagnetic pulse
(21:30):
a byproduct a little nuclear blast. You know, when they
popped a nuke and Bikini a toll at nineteen forty
eight or fifty or whatever it was, it turned the
lights out sixty hundred miles away in Honolulu. And so yeah,
we're exposed. But our biggest spots exposure, I believe, strategically,
(21:55):
is in a domestic grid. This is old fashioned, not
protect that easy to best with. I think we have
a lot of exposure. There's some security exposure, and they're
domestic electric crid machines that make artillery shelves, aren't art.
Speaker 1 (22:20):
Before we finish our conversation, Bob, could you share with
our audience about your books and what's like the main
plotline of them and how what inspired you to write
your most recent books and any books that you're planning
to write in the future.
Speaker 2 (22:42):
Sure, I've written for of the what I call the
Coach series that gave political national security thrillers. I looked
into politics, I looked at military technology. Well, I don't
know what I need to tell my story to make
it up because it's siction. And what I made of
in my life book was the shrinking of the MP
(23:06):
had a fusible oh Direcsian weapon and left room and
new books for it. Me trunk even further. And when
I started the first one, I was in Vietnam and
we were on a tourist trip in nineteen ninety sixty
(23:27):
ninety eight, and I was in the bowl of a
bruise ship and heading out of Saigo and river up
the such shine of seed in the Dang and we
got into a typhoon. It was sixty dot seas forty
not seas across forty foot bows across waves across about.
(23:51):
It was really an ugly storm. And I don't get
seasick that everybody else in a dug on boat did.
So I would go up every day, put my head out,
get the key to the bar and get out and
the two glass of wine and take the key back
and get back to my room. Pretty quickly I figured
out that it is something you do. So I wrote
my first book, and it was about a.
Speaker 3 (24:15):
Kid who.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
Got in trouble in high school and cut stuck in
the Marine corps quickly, and then into let's see how
Special Option became a explosives expert and a martial arts
expert in the years he was there, so everything flowed
from there. The second book was about Yemen where the
(24:41):
Hooties are now and a nerve gas attack in Dallas
Stadium and how you handle that. And the third one
was this Aron suffers a pretty intive attack by the
United States because they're about to pop up and they
are delivered EMP nuke over Israel. And Israel is a
(25:06):
country size of New Jersey and if you get TELEVIV
and Ephen Jerusalem, you get most of it. Idio Orshiba maybe,
but that's a small place to try to deliver a
weapon like that. So we helped the Israelis and they
(25:31):
defeated that attacking. In the last book that I've done
so far, as it's called The Mahdi, The Mahdi in
Whistle Life sort of the second coming of Muhammad. And
by this time my protagonist has at a gras you
(25:51):
graduate degree in Islamic studies for several years and he's
a kind of guy that can be effective in the
WISSLM world. And is business is a Bedouin business. He
lives in Tangier, was an error from his grandfather, and
he gets elected by the Vedouin tribes, although there are
(26:15):
a million freight across the Middle East from no real
government of their own to try to recover the Israeli
confiscation of Westbac arms, which is going on right now.
It's in the news. They're attacking West Bank settlers as
we speak, because they're getting too active in their support
of their Palos city and brethren, and that that's going
(26:40):
to be a topic of some merit for some time.
And I think that with that last book, I made
a case that the city is trapped, which was in
the Pelivinesian Wars, and the cities are general and they
determined that Sparta figured out that Israel was up and
(27:04):
coming and they were going to catch up to them,
and if they didn't attack them now, they wouldn't be
able to in a few years. And Israel doesn't believe that.
I don't think or they would be doing these differently
than they are to dead. But I make that case
of my book for the traps closing. In ten years,
they won't have the nuclear agemity the day of the day,
(27:28):
they would have the communications of the GEMNY the of
the day. They probably won't be as strong relatively as
they are today, as the best army in the world
meant for man. So they've taken a chance on their existence.
And I think it's because they have Thug as prime minister.
(27:50):
And maybe I'm wrong, and I'm watching with a great
deal of interest right now. I think that the Uranians
and HESBA would be crazy to try to tack up
a thousand drug an hour. It's for you can sure
dun Dead does so your letter, those.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
Characters that you got, Thank you so much, Bob. Ladies
and gentlemen, you just listen to military tech expert Robert Cook.
Robert Cook, thank you so much for your time.
Speaker 2 (28:24):
Thank you really jes to speak, Thank you very much.
Speaker 4 (28:27):
Strategic Wisdom with Andrew Jose is an initiative of Andrew
Jose Media. The views expressed by guests on this show
do not necessarily represent the official positions and opinions of
Andrew Jose, Andrew Jose Media, and Strategic Wisdom.
Speaker 5 (28:45):
Thank you for listening to Strategic Wisdom. Be sure to
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are using to listen to this show in order to
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(29:08):
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