What determines the length of first-mover advantage in military innovation? In adopting revolutions in military affairs, some first movers benefit from a lengthy advantage while others suffer from a brief advantage. In this paper, I argue that that two factors, leadership and doctrinal congruence, relate to the two relevant actors, a first mover and a secondary actor, to explain the length of a first mover’s strategic edge. The theory is tested on the aircraft carrier, submarine, and intercontinental ballistic missile revolutions.
