The Art of Military Innovation: Lessons from the Israel Defense Forces

“Rich with rare detail, much of it a result of the authors’ access to the IDF’s inner sanctums and their intimate knowledge of grand strategy and military history.” –Wall Street Journal

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 1948, the emerging Jewish state lacked sufficient weaponry and the capacity to produce it. Forced to make do, the IDF relied on a spirit of improvisation.

Today that same spirit has secured the IDF a place among the world’s most powerful militaries. In The Art of Military Innovation, Edward Luttwak and Eitan Shamir trace the roots of this astounding success. What sets the IDF apart, they argue, is its structure. From its inception, it has been the world’s only one-service military, with air, naval, and land forces collected in a single institutional body. This unique architecture, coupled with a youthful officer corps, encourages initiative from below. The result is a nimble organization inclined toward change.

The IDF has fostered significant technological advances, 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.