Abstract
This article argues that the United States faces an institutional, not technological, adaptation gap in military artificial intelligence (AI). Constraints drive adversaries toward optimization choices that generate greater operational lethality than abundance-driven Western procurement allows. Departing from algorithmic or budget-centric commentary, it compares three procurement architectures (compliance-optimized, battlefield-validated, and systematically extractive) and treats Ukraine as a distinct wartime adoption system rather than a fourth model. Using Russian ZALA Lancet loitering munition strike data, Chinese-language doctrine on dissipative warfare, and US and NATO acquisition documentation, the analysis offers acquisition executives and combatant commanders five reforms achievable within existing authorities.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
10.55540/0031-1723.3404
Recommended Citation
Branko Ruzic, "Constraint Breeds Lethality: Three Models of Military AI Adoption," Parameters 56, no. 3 (2026), doi:10.55540/0031-1723.3404.