Updated October 23, 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 without manual human control.
directed-energy weapons,
LAWS require computer algorithms and sensor suites to
classify an object as hostile, make an engagement decision,
biotechnology, and
and guide a weapon to the target. This capability would
quantum technology.
enable the system to operate in communications-degraded
or -denied environments where traditional systems may not
As these technologies continue to mature, they could hold
be able to operate.
significant implications for congressional oversight, U.S.
defense authorizations and appropriations, military concepts
LAWS generally do not yet exist, and some senior military
of operations, and the future of war.
and defense leaders have expressed concerns about the
Artificial Intelligence
ethics of ever fielding such systems. For example, in 2017
testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee,
Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to a computer system
Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Paul
capable of human-level cognition. AI is currently being
Selva stated, “I do not think it is reasonable for us to put
incorporated into a number of military applications,
robots in charge of whether or not we take a human life.”
including intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance;
Currently, there are no domestic or international legal
logistics; defensive cyber operations; command and control;
prohibitions on the development of LAWS; however, an
and semi-autonomous and autonomous vehicles. As it
international group of government experts has begun to
develops, AI could enable new concepts of operations, such
discuss the issue. Approximately 25 countries have called
as swarming (i.e., cooperative behavior in which
for a preemptive ban on the systems due to ethical
uninhabited vehicles autonomously coordinate to achieve a
considerations, while others have called for formal
task), that could present both challenges and opportunities
regulation. DOD Directive 3000.09 establishes department
for the U.S. military.
guidelines for the development and fielding of LAWS to
ensure that they comply with “the law of war, applicable
Recent news reports and analyses have highlighted the role
treaties, weapon system safety rules, and applicable rules of
of AI in enabling increasingly realistic photo, audio, and
engagement.”
video digital forgeries, popularly known as “deep fakes.”
Adversaries could potentially deploy this AI capability as
Hypersonic Weapons
part of their information operations in a “gray zone”
Hypersonic weapons—which fly at speeds of at least Mach
conflict. Deep fake technology could be used against the
5—are in development in a number of countries, including
United States and its allies to generate false news reports,
the United States. There are two categories of hypersonic
influence public discourse, erode public trust, and attempt
weapons:
to blackmail diplomats. Some have suggested that AI could
be used to create full digital “patterns-of-life,” in which an
individual’s digital footprint
Hypersonic glide vehicles (HGV) are launched from a
is mapped against other
rocket before gliding to a target.
personal information, such as spending habits and job
history, to create comprehensive behavioral profiles of
Hypersonic cruise missiles (HCM) are powered by
servicemembers, suspected intelligence officers,
high-speed engines throughout the duration of their
government officials, and private citizens. Similar to deep
flight.
fakes, this information could, in turn, be used for targeted
influence operations or blackmail.
In contrast to ballistic missiles, hypersonic weapons do not
follow a ballistic trajectory and can maneuver en route to
To coordinate defense-wide AI efforts, the Pentagon
their destination, making defense against them difficult.
established the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC,
pronounced “jake”) in June 2018 under the Department of
Currently, no such defense against hypersonic weapons
exists, and experts disagree on the affordability,
Defense’s (DOD’s) Chief Information Officer. In addition,
technological feasibility, and utility of hypersonic missile
the FY2019 National Defense Authorization Act (P.L. 115-
https://crsreports.congress.gov
Defense Primer: Emerging Technologies
defense options. These options could include interceptor
Quantum Technology
missiles, hypervelocity projectiles, laser guns, and
Quantum technology, which employs the principles of
electronic attack systems.
quantum physics, has not yet reached maturity; however, it
holds significant implications for the future of encryption
According to open-source reporting, China and Russia have
and stealth technologies. GAO reports that DOD, State,
conducted successful hypersonic weapons tests and are
DHS, and the ODNI have assessed that “quantum
expected to have an operational HGV capability as early as
communications could enable adversaries to develop secure
2020. The United States is unlikely to field an operational
communications that U.S. personnel would not be able to
HGV system before 2022. Although HCM technology is
intercept or decrypt. Quantum computing may allow
less mature than HGV technology, reports suggest that it
adversaries to decrypt [unclassified, classified, or sensitive]
could be fielded by Russia in 2023. Other countries—
information, which could enable them to target U.S.
including France, Australia, India, Germany, and Japan—
personnel and military operations.”
also have research programs in hypersonic weapons.
Quantum technology could have other military applications,
Directed-Energy Weapons
such as quantum radar systems hypothesized to be capable
DOD defines directed-energy (DE) weapons as those using
of identifying the performance characteristics (e.g., radar
concentrated electromagnetic energy, rather than kinetic
cross-section, speed) of objects with a greater level of
energy, to “incapacitate, damage, disable, or destroy enemy
accuracy than conventional radar systems. This would
equipment, facilities, and/or personnel.” DE weapons—
significantly ease the tracking and targeting of U.S. low-
often colloquially referred to as “lasers”—could be used by
observable, or stealth, aircraft such as the F-22, F-35, and
ground forces in counter rocket, artillery, and mortar (C-
B-2. Similarly, advances in quantum sensing could
RAM) or short-range air defense (SHORAD) missions.
theoretically enable significant improvements in submarine
They could offer low costs per shot and nearly limitless
detection, rendering the oceans “transparent.” This could, in
magazines that, in contrast to existing conventional
turn, hold implications for the survivability of the U.S. sea-
systems, could enable an efficient and effective means of
based nuclear deterrent.
defending against missile salvos and swarms of uninhabited
vehicles. Theoretically, DE weapons could also provide
CRS Products
options for boost-phase missile intercept, given their speed-
of-light travel time; however, as in the case of hypersonic
CRS Report R45178, Artificial Intelligence and National Security,
missile defense, experts disagree on the affordability,
by Kelley M. Sayler
technological feasibility, and utility of this application.
CRS In Focus IF11333, Deep Fakes and National Security, by
Kelley M. Sayler and Laurie A. Harris
High-powered microwave (HPM) weapons, a subset of DE
CRS Report R45142, Information Warfare: Issues for Congress,
weapons, could be used as a nonkinetic means of disabling
by Catherine A. Theohary
electronics, communications systems, and improvised
explosive devices in the event of a conflict. In addition, the
CRS Report R44466, Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems:
U.S. military has explored using HPM in a nonlethal “heat
Issues for Congress, by Nathan J. Lucas
ray” system for crowd control; however, the system was
CRS In Focus IF11150, Defense Primer: U.S. Policy on Lethal
recalled—likely due to ethical and operational
Autonomous Weapon Systems, by Kelley M. Sayler
considerations.
CRS Report R45811, Hypersonic Weapons: Background and
Issues for Congress, by Kelley M. Sayler
Biotechnology
CRS Report R45098, U.S. Army Weapons-Related Directed
Biotechnology leverages life sciences for technological
Energy (DE) Programs: Background and Potential Issues for
applications. A number of developments in biotechnology
Congress, by Andrew Feickert
hold potential implications for national security. As a 2018
Government Accountability Office (GAO) report notes, the
CRS Report R44175, Navy Lasers, Railgun, and Gun-Launched
Departments of Defense, State (State), and Homeland
Guided Projectile: Background and Issues for Congress, by Ronald
Security (DHS), and the Office of the Director of National
O'Rourke
Intelligence (ODNI), all assess that biotechnologies, such as
CRS Report R44824, Advanced Gene Editing: CRISPR-Cas9, by
the low-cost gene-editing tool CRISPR-Cas9, have the
Marcy E. Gallo et al.
potential to “alter genes or create DNA to modify plants,
CRS Report R45409, Quantum Information Science: Applications,
animals, and humans. Such biotechnologies could be used
Global Research and Development, and Policy Considerations, by
to enhance [or degrade] the performance of military
Patricia Moloney Figliola
personnel. The proliferation of synthetic biology—used to
create genetic code that does not exist in nature—may
increase the number of actors that can create chemical and
Other Resources
biological weapons.” U.S. adversaries may be less
Government Accountability Office, National Security: Long-
restrained in both researching and applying biotechnology,
Range Emerging Threats Facing the United States as Identified by
particularly as it relates to human performance modification
Federal Agencies, December 2018, https://www.gao.gov/assets/
and biological weapons.
700/695981.pdf.
https://crsreports.congress.gov
Defense Primer: Emerging Technologies
Kelley M. Sayler, Analyst in Advanced Technology and
Global Security
IF11105
Disclaimer
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