Ukraine shocked the world (and the Kremlin especially) when it launched a surprise attack with over a hundred kamikaze drones smuggled into Russia and delivered by unwitting Russian truck drivers to locations near sensitive military bases. If Kyiv’s claims are correct, 34 percent of Russia’s strategic cruise missile carriers were taken out of action.

Imagine if something like this happened to the United States. It’s not so far-fetched. We know, for example, that China possesses adapted civilian shipping containers that can house various missiles. They could enter any port on civilian commercial ships. What if a war with China breaks out by hundreds of these missiles taking out the bulk of the U.S. fleet in American ports on the east and west coasts as well as in Hawaii, all launched from ships operated by COSCO, a Chinese civilian shipping company with known ties to the People’s Liberation Army? What if we were to tell you that their ships already routinely dock within just a few miles from U.S. naval installations? The homeland security threat is real, and the same risks extend to any American military campaign in the Indo-Pacific, where the majority of container ships operate. If the United States is to defend Taiwan or treaty allies like Japan or Korea, the threat of container missiles on board ships poses a new and vexing maritime threat.

If you play the game, you must know the rules. How will the laws of targeting and rules of engagement apply in such a contingency? Unfortunately, U.S. military commanders are poorly trained on these matters, if they are even trained at all.