Our Military Is Built for the Wrong Century
Ukraine and Iran have shown us that war as we’ve known it is over.
May 28, 2026
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Ross DouthatVictoria Chamberlin
Hosted by Ross Douthat
Produced by Victoria Chamberlin
The future of high-tech warfare has arrived. Just look to the conflicts in Ukraine and Iran to see how much drones and robots have remade the modern battlefield. Is the U.S. positioned to win wars in this new era? What are the ethical constraints of waging autonomous warfare? My guest this week is Christian Brose, the president and chief strategy officer of Anduril, a defense technology company building a slate of autonomous weapons and defense systems for the American military.
Our Military Is Built for the Wrong Century
Ukraine and Iran have shown us that war as we’ve known it is over.
Below is an edited transcript of an episode of “Interesting Times.” We recommend listening to it in its original form for the full effect. You can do so using the player above or on the NYTimes app, Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube, iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts.
Ross Douthat: Chris Brose, welcome to “Interesting Times.”
Chris Brose: Thank you. Great to be here.
Douthat: So it seems to me like the future of high-tech warfare has arrived, that we are living through a revolution in war fighting unlike any — at least in my own lifetime — in which drones and robots and autonomous weapons are remaking battlefields. And your professional work puts you at the center of this shift.
You are the president and chief strategy officer of Anduril, which is a defense technology company that’s trying to be the hub — or a hub, at least — for autonomous warfare. But you’re also someone with a deeper background in national security and American government. You worked as a policy adviser to Condoleezza Rice, to John McCain, and you’re the author of a book about the high-tech military future.
So I want to start by asking you to describe where we are now, generally, to someone, let’s say, who fell asleep at the end of the Iraq war and just woke up.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/opinion/military-iran-ukraine-russia-war-drones.html
