Mahan recognized that aviation, submarines, and wireless telegraphy could change naval tactics. His writing predates the familiar modern division between tactics, operations, and strategy, so its terminology has to be read in that setting. In Considerations Governing the Dispositions of Navies, he considered how wireless communication could let fleets disperse and concentrate again. Armstrong reads this as an early exploration of a networked battle force. Mahan would still find contemporary technology unfamiliar, but his tactical forecasts and his arguments about broader strategic decisions need to be assessed separately.
Notable Point · 27:09-33:14
Mahan separated technological change from strategic purpose
Mahan expected new technology to transform tactics while leaving many strategic questions relevant, and his wireless discussion explored how dispersed fleets could reconcentrate.