The end of the American way of war?

Brookings Institution | Caitlin Talmadge and Mara Karlin

The Iran war in 2026 has severely undermined the United States' long-standing military strategy of forward defense by demonstrating that forward-deployed bases and surface ships no longer enjoy sanctuary from adversary attacks. Iranian forces successfully struck over 200 targets across the Middle East using highly accurate missiles and drones, killing seven U.S.

service personnel and injuring over 400. This vulnerability stems from decades of American reliance on projecting power from close-proximity hubs, a model honed since World War II that adversaries like China and Russia have systematically designed long-range strike capabilities to defeat. To counter these emerging threats, Washington must dramatically accelerate efforts to disperse and harden its bases, particularly in Asia, while investing in attack submarines and attritable unmanned systems. Furthermore, defense planners must reassess regional posture dependencies, especially as key European and Gulf allies increasingly restrict U.S. access to their bases during active hostilities.

Comment

The vulnerability of forward-deployed bases and surface vessels highlighted by the conflict in the Middle East offers critical lessons for India's own continental and maritime security posture. As New Delhi expands its strategic footprint in the Indian Ocean Region through dual-use facilities and logistics agreements, the threat of precision long-range missile and drone salvos from regional adversaries must be factored into base-hardening and air-defence doctrines. Furthermore, the demonstrated utility of attritable unmanned systems and undersea capabilities underscores the urgent need for India to accelerate its domestic production of these asymmetric platforms to counter China's growing footprint in the Indo-Pacific.

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