New Book by Louis A. Del Monte Grapples with US’ Development of Star Trek-like Weapons
Directed Energy Weapons and the Future of 21st Century Warfare
Minneapolis, Minnesota, March 2, 2021: For many Americans, the idea of laser weapons and force field shields may be more at place in a Star Trek film than on the battlefield, but the US development and deployment of directed energy weapons is rapidly changing that reality in 21st Century Warfare. Louis Del Monte’s new book, War at the Speed of Light (Potomac Books, March 2021), describes the revolutionary and ever-increasing role of directed-energy weapons, such as laser, microwave, electromagnetic pulse, and cyberspace weapons.
As potential adversaries develop hypersonic missiles, missile swarming tactics, and cyberspace weapons, the US military has turned to directed energy weapons for defensive and offensive purposes. Unfortunately, though, in War at the Speed of Light, Del Monte argues that these weapons can completely disrupt the fragile compromises that have kept the world safe through the Cold War.
“Directed energy weapons have the potential to disrupt the doctrine of Mutually Assured Destruction, which has kept the major powers of the world from engaging in a nuclear war,” said Del Monte.
Del Monte analyzes how modern warfare is changing in three fundamental ways: the pace of war is quickening, the rate at which weapons project devastation reaches the speed of light, and cyberspace is now officially a battlefield. In this acceleration of combat from “Hyperwar” to “C-War,” an acceleration from computer speed to the speed of light, War at the Speed of Light shows how disturbingly close the world is to losing any deterrence to nuclear warfare.
Book Reviews
- “Louis Del Monte has given us a fascinating, sophisticated, and at times disturbing tour of the next stage of warfare, in which directed energy weapons inflict damage at the speed of light. In terms readily accessible to the general public, he describes how weapons that use energy sources such as lasers, microwaves, and electromagnetic pulses have the potential to profoundly change the balance of power and revolutionize the nature of conflict.” Mitt Regan, McDevitt Professor of Jurisprudence, Co-Director, Center on National Security and the Law, Georgetown University Law Center
- “Louis Del Monte provides a thought-provoking look at the ever-increasing and revolutionary role of directed energy weapons in warfare… Most importantly, Del Monte surfaces the threat that directed energy weapons pose to disrupting the doctrine of MAD (i.e., mutually assured destruction), which has kept the major powers of the world from engaging in a nuclear war.” COL Christopher M. Korpela, Ph.D.
The book is available at bookstores, from Potomac Books, and on Amazon.
Louis A. Del Monte is available for radio, podcast, and television interviews, as well as writing op-ed pieces for major media outlets. Feel free to contact him directly by email at ldelmonte@delmonteagency.com and phone at 952-261-4532.
To request a book for review, contact Jackson Adams by email at jadams30@unl.edu.
About Louis A. Del Monte
Louis A. Del Monte is an award-winning physicist, inventor, futurist, featured speaker, and CEO of Del Monte and Associates, Inc. He has authored a formidable body of work, including War At The Speed Of Light (2021), Genius Weapons (2018), Nanoweapons (2016), and Amazon charts #1 bestseller The Artificial Intelligence Revolution (2014). Major magazines like the Business Insider, The Huffington Post, The Atlantic, American Security Today, Inc., CNBC, and the New York Post have featured his articles or quoted his views on artificial intelligence and military technology.
