Jeune École helps distinguish technological advantage from strategic thought. Faith in torpedoes and high-explosive guns is compared with modern claims that stealth or another superior capability can substitute for a plan. Destroying an enemy force or government answers only the immediate operational question. Strategy must also explain what comes next, what follows that step, and how the adversary will adapt by building larger, better-armoured ships or rapid-firing counters. Small torpedo craft also lose their theoretical advantage in heavy weather, when a larger ship's ability to operate in a storm becomes an operational advantage.
Notable Point · 6:34-8:35
Why technology is not a strategy
A weapon can enable action, but strategy begins by answering what happens after the first tactical success.