Keen On America It's Always Exploding Somewhere: Why No Weapon Is Ever Perfect
Feb 2, 2026
Jeffrey Stern, author and war reporter known for The Warhead, recounts the rise of the Paveway smart bomb and its messy realities. He traces Texas Instruments' role, the political lure of precision weapons, and the human costs on the ground. Conversations touch on corporate banality, systemic responsibility, gender dynamics in weapons work, and the dangers of AI-driven targeting.
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Weapons Fueled Consumer Silicon Revolution
- The Paveway smart bomb's history links consumer tech and military needs in surprising ways.
- Texas Instruments used weapons development to subsidize silicon chips that later powered consumer electronics.
Precision Weapons Are Politically Useful
- Smart weapons solved political as well as tactical problems during Vietnam and later conflicts.
- Their local economic footprint creates political inertia that makes them hard to cancel.
Precision Is Only As Good As Intelligence
- Precision (circular error probability) depends entirely on intelligence quality and context.
- Even the 'most precise' air war caused immense civilian casualties when intelligence and strategy failed.
