Includes bibliographical references (pages 255-265) and index.

Introduction: slow burn
Unit X
Zeroized
The gonkulator
A new kill chain for North Korea
Unit X loses the X
Washington and the rise of the machines
Venture capital goes to war
Ukraine and the battlefield of the future
From steel to silicon

"A riveting inside look at an elite unit within the Pentagon--the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), also known as Unit X--whose mission is to bring Silicon Valley's cutting-edge technology to America's military: from the two men who launched the unit. Until recently, the Pentagon was known for its uncomfortable relationship with Silicon Valley and for slow-moving processes that acted as a brake on innovation. Unit X was specifically designed as a bridge to Valley technologists that would accelerate bringing state of the art software and hardware to the battle space. Given authority to cut through red tape and function almost as a venture capital firm, Shah, Kirchhoff, and others in the Unit who came after were tasked particularly with meeting immediate military needs with technology from Valley startups rather than from so-called "primes"--behemoth companies like Lockheed, Raytheon, and Boeing. Taking us inside AI labs, drone workshops, and battle command centers--and, also, overseas to Ukraine's frontlines--Shah and Kirchhoff paint a fascinating picture of what it takes to stay dominant in a fast-changing and often precarious geopolitical landscape" -- Goodreads.