February 12, 2019
Defense Primer: Emerging Technologies
Senior U.S. defense and intelligence officials have
232, §1051) established a National Security Commission on
identified a number of emerging technologies that could
Artificial Intelligence to assess U.S. competitiveness in AI
have a disruptive impact on U.S. national security in the
and offer recommendations to Congress.
years to come. These technologies include

Lethal Autonomous Weapons
artificial intelligence,
Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems (LAWS) are a class
 lethal autonomous weapons,
of weapon systems capable of independently identifying a

target and employing an onboard weapon system to engage
hypersonic weapons,
and destroy the target with no human interaction. LAWS
 directed-energy weapons,
require computer algorithms and sensor suites to classify an

object as hostile, make an engagement decision, and guide a
biotechnology, and
weapon to the target. This capability would enable the
 quantum technology.
system to operate in communications-degraded or -denied
environments where traditional systems may not be able to
As these technologies continue to mature, they could hold
operate.
significant implications for congressional oversight, U.S.
defense authorizations and appropriations, military concepts
LAWS do not yet exist, and some senior military and
of operations, and the future of war.
defense leaders have expressed concerns about the ethics of
Artificial Intelligence
ever fielding such systems. For example, in 2017 testimony
before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Vice
Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to a computer system
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Paul Selva
capable of human-level cognition. AI is currently being
stated, “I do not think it is reasonable for us to put robots in
incorporated into a number of military applications,
charge of whether or not we take a human life.” Currently,
including intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance;
there are no domestic or international legal prohibitions on
logistics; defensive cyber operations; command and control;
the development of LAWS; however, an international group
and semi-autonomous and autonomous vehicles. As it
of government experts has begun to discuss the issue.
develops, AI could enable new concepts of operations, such
Approximately 25 countries have called for a preemptive
as swarming (i.e., cooperative behavior in which
ban on the systems due to ethical considerations, while
uninhabited vehicles autonomously coordinate to achieve a
others have called for formal regulation. DOD Directive
task), that could present both challenges and opportunities
3000.09 establishes department guidelines for the
for the U.S. military.
development and fielding of LAWS to ensure that they
comply with “the law of war, applicable treaties, weapon
Recent news reports and analyses have highlighted the role
system safety rules, and applicable rules of engagement.”
of AI in enabling increasingly realistic photo, audio, and
video digital forgeries, popularly known as “deep fakes.”
Hypersonic Weapons
Adversaries could potentially deploy this AI capability as
Hypersonic weapons—which fly at speeds of at least Mach
part of their information operations in a “gray zone”
5—do not yet exist, but they are in development in a
conflict. Deep fake technology could be used against the
number of countries. There are two categories of
United States and its allies to generate false news reports,
hypersonic weapons:
influence public discourse, erode public trust, and attempt
to blackmail diplomats. Some have suggested that AI could
 Hypersonic glide vehicles (HGV) are launched from a
be used to create full digital “patterns-of-life,” in which an
rocket before gliding to a target.
individual’s digital footprint is mapped against other
personal information, such as spending habits and job
 Hypersonic cruise missiles (HCM) are powered by
history, to create comprehensive behavioral profiles of
high-speed engines throughout the duration of their
servicemembers, suspected intelligence officers,
flight.
government officials, and private citizens. Similar to deep
fakes, this information could, in turn, be used for targeted
In contrast to ballistic missiles, hypersonic weapons do not
influence operations or blackmail.
follow a ballistic trajectory and can maneuver en route to
their destination, making defense against them difficult.
To coordinate defense-wide AI efforts, the Pentagon
Currently, no such defense against hypersonic weapons
established the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC,
pronounced “jake”) in June 2018 under the Department of
exists, and experts disagree on the affordability,
technological feasibility, and utility of hypersonic missile
Defense’s (DOD’s) Chief Information Officer. In addition,
defense options. These options could include interceptor
the FY2019 National Defense Authorization Act (P.L. 115-
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Defense Primer: Emerging Technologies
missiles, hypervelocity projectiles, laser guns, and
holds significant implications for the future of encryption
electronic attack systems.
and stealth technologies. GAO reports that DOD, State,
DHS, and the ODNI have assessed that “quantum
According to open-source reporting, China and Russia
communications could enable adversaries to develop secure
conducted successful hypersonic weapons tests in 2018 and
communications that U.S. personnel would not be able to
are expected to have an operational HGV capability as early
intercept or decrypt. Quantum computing may allow
as 2020. The United States anticipates achieving an HGV
adversaries to decrypt [unclassified, classified, or sensitive]
capability around 2022. Although HCM technology is less
information, which could enable them to target U.S.
mature than HGV technology, reports suggest that it could
personnel and military operations.”
be fielded by Russia in 2022. Other countries—including
France, Australia, India, and Germany—also have research
Quantum technology could have other military applications,
programs in hypersonic weapons.
such as quantum radar systems hypothesized to be capable
of identifying the performance characteristics (e.g., radar
Directed-Energy Weapons
cross-section, speed) of objects with a greater level of
DOD defines directed-energy (DE) weapons as those using
accuracy than conventional radar systems. This would
concentrated electromagnetic energy, rather than kinetic
significantly ease the tracking and targeting of U.S. low-
energy, to “incapacitate, damage, disable, or destroy enemy
observable, or stealth, aircraft such as the F-22, F-35, and
equipment, facilities, and/or personnel.” DE weapons—
B-2. Similarly, advances in quantum sensing could
often colloquially referred to as “lasers”—could be used by
theoretically enable significant improvements in submarine
ground forces in counter rocket, artillery, and mortar (C-
detection, rendering the oceans “transparent.” This could, in
RAM) or short-range air defense (SHORAD) missions.
turn, hold implications for the survivability of the U.S. sea-
They could offer low costs per shot and nearly limitless
based nuclear deterrent.
magazines that, in contrast to existing conventional
systems, could enable an efficient and effective means of
CRS Products
defending against missile salvos and swarms of uninhabited
vehicles. Theoretically, DE weapons could also provide
CRS Report R45178, Artificial Intelligence and National Security,
options for boost-phase missile defense, given their speed-
by Kelley M. Sayler
of-light travel time; however, as in the case of hypersonic
CRS Report R45142, Information Warfare: Issues for Congress,
missile defense, experts disagree on the affordability,
by Catherine A. Theohary
technological feasibility, and utility of this application.
CRS Report R44466, Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems:
Issues for Congress, by Nathan J. Lucas
High-powered microwave (HPM) weapons, a subset of DE
weapons, could be used as a nonkinetic means of disabling
CRS Report R45098, U.S. Army Weapons-Related Directed
electronics, communications systems, and improvised
Energy (DE) Programs: Background and Potential Issues for
explosive devices in the event of a conflict. In addition, the
Congress, by Andrew Feickert
U.S. military has explored using HPM in a nonlethal “heat
CRS Report R44175, Navy Lasers, Railgun, and Gun-Launched
ray” system for crowd control; however, the system was
Guided Projectile: Background and Issues for Congress, by Ronald
recalled—likely due to ethical and operational
O'Rourke
considerations.
CRS Report R44824, Advanced Gene Editing: CRISPR-Cas9, by
Marcy E. Gallo et al.
Biotechnology
CRS Report R45409, Quantum Information Science: Applications,
Biotechnology leverages life sciences for technological
Global Research and Development, and Policy Considerations, by
applications. A number of developments in biotechnology
Patricia Moloney Figliola
hold potential implications for national security. As a 2018
Government Accountability Office (GAO) report notes, the
Departments of Defense, State (State), and Homeland
Other Resources
Security (DHS), and the Office of the Director of National
Department of Defense Directive 3000.09, “Autonomy in
Intelligence (ODNI), all assess that biotechnologies, such as
Weapon Systems,” May 8, 2017, https://www.esd.whs.mil/
the low-cost gene-editing tool CRISPR-Cas9, have the
portals/54/documents/dd/issuances/dodd/300009p.pdf.
potential to “alter genes or create DNA to modify plants,
Government Accountability Office, National Security: Long-
animals, and humans. Such biotechnologies could be used
Range Emerging Threats Facing the United States as Identified by
to enhance [or degrade] the performance of military
Federal Agencies, December 2018, https://www.gao.gov/assets/
personnel. The proliferation of synthetic biology—used to
700/695981.pdf.
create genetic code that does not exist in nature—may
increase the number of actors that can create chemical and
Daniel R. Coats, “Statement for the Record: World Wide
biological weapons.” U.S. adversaries may be less
Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community,”
restrained in both researching and applying biotechnology,
January 29, 2019, https://www.dni.gov/files/ODNI/documents/
particularly as it relates to human performance modification
2019-ATA-SFR—SSCI.pdf.
and biological weapons.

Quantum Technology
Quantum technology, which employs the principles of
Kelley M. Sayler, Analyst in Advanced Technology and
quantum physics, has not yet reached maturity; however, it
Global Security
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Defense Primer: Emerging Technologies

IF11105


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