"Precision beats mass" and "one shot, one kill" are the foundations of Western combat doctrine. It supposes that our weapons, which are highly accurate, can through deliberate target selection and mission execution overcome large disadvantages in manpower.

But prior to the Ukraine War, that theory had not been tested against a "peer opponent". Previous conflicts were against inferior forces, poorly equipped.

Russia and China, on the other hand, have worldclass militaries, and Russia has shown a shocking degree of adaptability against our precision weapons platforms. Their Electronic Warfare efforts include jamming of our radar systems and GPS satellite feeds, and it is proving so successful that our artillery and missile systems are obsolete within mere weeks of their deliveries to Ukrainian warfighters.

Senior military officers and defense experts are finally raising alarm, and admit that our assumptions about our capabilities have been greatly exaggerated.

Resources and links:
Wall Street Journal, HighTech American Weapons Work Against Russia—Until They Don’t: Moscow is learning how to defeat Western precision munitions in Ukraine
https://www.wsj.com/world/usweapons...

Houthis Shoot Down Third MQ9; Five Now Lost to Hostile Fire in Just Over a Year
https://www.airandspaceforces.com/hou...

Inside China Business, US missile platforms rely on Chinese semiconductors
   • The US military needs Chinese semicon...  

Closing scene: Tiger Leaping Gorge, Yunnan Province