Emerging Military Technologies: Background
August 4, 2020
and Issues for Congress
Kelley M. Sayler
Members of Congress and Pentagon officials are increasingly focused on developing
Analyst in Advanced
emerging military technologies to enhance U.S. national security and keep pace with
Technology and Global
U.S. competitors. The U.S. military has long relied upon technological superiority to
Security
ensure its dominance in conflict and to underwrite U.S. national security. In recent years,

however, technology has both rapidly evolved and rapidly proliferated—largely as a

result of advances in the commercial sector. As former Secretary of Defense Chuck
Hagel observed, this development has threatened to erode the United States’ traditional sources of military
advantage. The Department of Defense (DOD) has undertaken a number of initiatives to arrest this trend. For
example, in 2014, DOD announced the Third Offset Strategy, an effort to exploit emerging technologies for
military and security purposes as well as associated strategies, tactics, and concepts of operation. In support of
this strategy, DOD established a number of organizations focused on defense innovation, including the Defense
Innovation Unit and the Defense Wargaming Alignment Group.
More recently, the 2018 National Defense Strategy echoed the underpinnings of the Third Offset Strategy, noting
that U.S. national security will likely be
affected by rapid technological advancements and the changing character of war…. New technologies
include advanced computing, “big data” analytics, artificial intelligence, autonomy, robotics, directed energy,
hypersonics, and biotechnology—the very technologies that ensure we will be able to fight and win the wars
of the future.
The United States is the leader in developing many of these technologies. However, China and Russia—key
strategic competitors—are making steady progress in developing advanced military technologies. As these
technologies are integrated into foreign and domestic military forces and deployed, they could hold significant
implications for the future of international security writ large, and will have to be a significant focus for Congress,
both in terms of funding and program oversight.
This report provides an overview of selected emerging military technologies in the United States, China, and
Russia:
 artificial intelligence,
 lethal autonomous weapons,
 hypersonic weapons,
 directed energy weapons,
 biotechnology, and
 quantum technology.
It also discusses relevant initiatives within international institutions to monitor or regulate these technologies,
considers the potential implications of emerging military technologies for warfighting, and outlines associated
issues for Congress. These issues include the level and stability of funding for emerging technologies, the
management structure for emerging technologies, the challenges associated with recruiting and retaining
technology workers, the acquisitions process for rapidly evolving and dual-use technologies, the protection of
emerging technologies from theft and expropriation, and the governance and regulation of emerging technologies.
Such issues could hold implications for congressional authorization, appropriation, oversight, and treaty-making.

Congressional Research Service

Emerging Military Technologies: Background and Issues for Congress

Introduction
Members of Congress and Pentagon officials are increasingly focused on developing emerging
military technologies to enhance U.S. national security and keep pace with U.S. competitors. The
U.S. military has long relied upon technological superiority to ensure its dominance in conflict
and to underwrite U.S. national security. In recent years, however, technology has both rapidly
evolved and rapidly proliferated—largely as a result of advances in the commercial sector. As
former Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel has observed, this development has threatened to erode
the United States’ traditional sources of military advantage.1 The Department of Defense (DOD)
has undertaken a number of initiatives in recent years in an effort to arrest this trend. For
example, in 2014, DOD announced the Third Offset Strategy, an effort to exploit emerging
technologies for military and security purposes as well as associated strategies, tactics, and
concepts of operation.2 In support of this strategy, DOD established a number of organizations
focused on defense innovation, including the Defense Innovation Unit and the Defense
Wargaming Alignment Group.
More recently, the 2018 National Defense Strategy has echoed the underpinnings of the Third
Offset Strategy, noting that U.S. national security will likely be
affected by rapid technological advancements and the changing character of war…. New
technologies include advanced computing, “big data” analytics, artificial intelligence,
autonomy, robotics, directed energy, hypersonics, and biotechnology—the very
technologies that ensure we will be able to fight and win the wars of the future.3
Although the United States is the leader in developing many of these technologies, China and
Russia—key strategic competitors—are making steady progress in developing advanced military
technologies. As they are integrated into foreign and domestic military forces and deployed, these
technologies could hold significant implications for congressional considerations and the future
of international security writ large.
This report provides an overview of selected emerging military technologies in the United States,
China, and Russia:
 artificial intelligence,
 lethal autonomous weapons,
 hypersonic weapons,
 directed energy weapons,
 biotechnology,
 and quantum technology.
It also discusses relevant initiatives within international institutions to monitor or regulate these
technologies, considers the potential implications of emerging military technologies, and outlines

1 Remarks as delivered by Secretary of Defense Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, “Defense Innovation Days
Opening Keynote,” September 3, 2014, at https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Speeches/Speech/Article/605602/.
2 The Third Offset Strategy is a strategy for maintaining U.S. military superiority. It succeeds the First and Second
Offsets—nuclear weapons and the precision-guided munitions regime, respectively. Remarks as prepared for delivery
by Deputy Secretary of Defense Bob Work, “National Defense University Convocation,” August 5, 2014, at
https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Speeches/Speech/Article/605598/.
3 Department of Defense, “Summary of the 2018 National Defense Strategy of The United States of America,” 2018, p.
3, at https://dod.defense.gov/Portals/1/Documents/pubs/2018-National-Defense-Strategy-Summary.pdf.
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associated issues for Congress. Such issues could hold implications for congressional
authorization, appropriation, oversight, and treaty-making.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)4
Although the U.S. government has no official definition of artificial intelligence, policymakers
generally use the term AI to refer to a computer system capable of human-level cognition. AI is
further divided into two categories: narrow AI and general AI. Narrow AI systems can perform
only the specific task that they were trained to perform, while general AI systems would be
capable of performing a broad range of tasks, including those for which they were not specifically
trained. General AI systems do not yet—and may never—exist.5
Narrow AI is currently being incorporated into a number of military applications by both the
United States and its competitors. Such applications include but are not limited to intelligence,
surveillance, and reconnaissance;6 logistics; cyber operations; command and control; and semi-
autonomous and autonomous vehicles. These technologies are intended in part to augment or
replace human operators, freeing them to perform more complex and cognitively demanding
work. In addition, AI-enabled systems could (1) react significantly faster than systems that rely on
operator input; (2) cope with an exponential increase in the amount of data available for analysis;
and (3) enable new concepts of operations, such as swarming (i.e., cooperative behavior in which
unmanned vehicles autonomously coordinate to achieve a task) that could confer a warfighting
advantage by overwhelming adversary defensive systems.
Narrow AI, however, could introduce a number of challenges. For example, such systems may be
subject to algorithmic bias as a result of their training data. Researchers have repeatedly
discovered instances of racial bias in AI facial recognition programs due to the lack of diversity in
the images on which the systems were trained, while some natural language processing programs
have developed gender bias.7 Such biases could hold significant implications for AI applications
in a military context. For example, incorporating undetected biases into systems with lethal
effects could lead to cases of mistaken identity and the unintended killing of civilians or
noncombatants.
Similarly, narrow AI algorithms can produce unpredictable and unconventional results that could
lead to unexpected failures if incorporated into military systems. In a commonly cited
demonstration of this phenomenon (illustrated in Figure 1), researchers combined a picture that
an AI system correctly identified as a panda with random distortion that the computer labeled
“nematode.” The difference in the combined image is imperceptible to the human eye, but it
resulted in the AI system labeling the image as a gibbon with 99.3% confidence. Such
vulnerabilities could be exploited intentionally by adversaries to disrupt AI-reliant or -assisted
target identification, selection, and engagement. This could, in turn, raise ethical concerns—or,

4 For more information about artificial intelligence, see CRS Report R45178, Artificial Intelligence and National
Security, by Kelley M. Sayler.
5 For a discussion of narrow versus general artificial intelligence, as well as a range of expert opinions about the future
of general artificial intelligence, see Nick Bostrom, Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies (Oxford, United
Kingdom: Oxford University Press, 2014).
6 For a discussion of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, see CRS Report R46389, Intelligence, Surveillance,
and Reconnaissance Design for Great Power Competition, by Nishawn S. Smagh.
7 Brian Barrett, “Lawmakers Can’t Ignore Facial Recognition’s Bias Anymore,” Wired, July 26, 2018, at
https://www.wired.com/story/amazon-facial-recognition-congress-bias-law-enforcement/; and Will Knight, “How to
Fix Silicon Valley’s Sexist Algorithms,” MIT Technology Review, November 23, 2016, at
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/602950/how-to-fix-silicon-valleys-sexist-algorithms/.
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potentially, lead to violations of the law of armed conflict—if it results in the system selecting
and engaging a target or class of targets that was not approved by a human operator.
Figure 1. AI Failure in Image Recognition

Source: Andrew Ilachinski, AI, Robots, and Swarms, Issues Questions, and Recommended Studies, Center for Naval
Analyses, January 2017, p. 61.
Finally, recent news reports and analyses have highlighted the role of AI in enabling increasingly
realistic photo, audio, and video digital forgeries, popularly known as “deep fakes.” Adversaries
could deploy this AI capability as part of their information operations in a “gray zone” conflict.8
Deep fake technology could be used against the United States and its allies to generate false news
reports, influence public discourse, erode public trust, and attempt blackmail of government
officials. For this reason, some analysts argue that social media platforms—in addition to
deploying deep fake detection tools—may need to expand the means of labeling and
authenticating content.9 Doing so might require that users identify the time and location at which
the content originated or properly label content that has been edited. Other analysts have
expressed concern that regulating deep fake technology could impose an undue burden on social
media platforms or lead to unconstitutional restrictions on free speech and artistic expression.10
These analysts have suggested that existing law is sufficient for managing the malicious use of
deep fakes and that the focus should be instead on the need to educate the public about deep fakes
and minimize incentives for creators of malicious deep fakes.
United States
DOD’s unclassified investments in AI have grown from just over $600 million in FY2016 to
$927 million in FY2020, with the department reportedly maintaining over 600 active AI
projects.11 Pursuant to the FY2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA; P.L. 115-232),

8 “Gray zone” conflicts are those that occur below the threshold of formally declared war. For more information about
information operations, see CRS In Focus IF10771, Defense Primer: Information Operations, by Catherine A.
Theohary.
9 Some social media platforms such as Twitter have established rules for labeling and removing certain types of
synthetic or manipulated media. See Yoel Roth and Ashita Achuthan, “Building rules in public: Our approach to
synthetic & manipulated media,” Twitter, February 4, 2020, at https://blog.twitter.com/en_us/topics/company/2020/
new-approach-to-synthetic-and-manipulated-media.html.
10 Jessica Ice, “Defamatory Political Deepfakes and the First Amendment,” Case Western Reserve Law Review, 2019,
at https://scholarlycommons.law.case.edu/caselrev/vol70/iss2/12.
11 Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)/Chief Financial Officer, Defense Budget Overview: United
States Department of Defense Fiscal Year 2020 Budget Request, March 2019, p. 9; and Brendan McCord, “Eye on AI,”
August 28, 2019, transcript available at https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5b75ac0285ede1b470f58ae2/t/
5d6aa8edb91b0c0001c7a05f/1567. DOD requested $800 million in FY2021 to “continue the AI pathfinders, Joint
Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC) and Project Maven” and an additional $1.7 billion for autonomy. Office of the
Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)/Chief Financial Officer, “Defense Budget Overview: United States
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DOD established the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC, pronounced “jake”) to coordinate
DOD projects of over $15 million.12 The JAIC has identified its priority National Mission
Initiatives for AI as predictive maintenance,13 humanitarian aid and disaster relief, cyberspace,
and automation. DOD requested $800 million for JAIC and Project Maven, an image processing
program, in FY2021.14
The FY2019 NDAA additionally directed DOD to publish a strategic roadmap for AI
development and fielding, as well as to develop guidance on “appropriate ethical, legal, and other
policies for the Department governing the development and use of artificial intelligence enabled
systems and technologies in operational situations.”15 In support of this mandate, the Defense
Innovation Board (DIB), an independent federal advisory committee to the Secretary of Defense,
drafted recommendations for the ethical use of artificial intelligence.16 Based on these
recommendations, DOD then adopted five ethical principles for AI based on the DIB’s
recommendations: responsibility, equitability, traceability, reliability, and governability.17 The
JAIC has been charged with implementing the ethical principles.18
The FY2019 NDAA also established a National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence to
conduct a comprehensive assessment of militarily relevant AI technologies and to provide
recommendations for strengthening U.S. competitiveness.19 The commission’s interim report to
Congress identifies five key lines of effort for driving U.S. AI competitiveness: (1) investing in
research and development, (2) applying AI to national security missions, (3) training and
recruiting AI talent, (4) protecting and building upon U.S. technology advantages, and (5)
marshalling global AI cooperation. The commission is releasing quarterly memos, which are to
provide recommendations for implementing these lines of effort, with a final report due in March
2021.
Per Section 256 of the FY2020 NDAA, DOD is also to “develop a strategy for educating
servicemembers in relevant occupational fields on matters relating to artificial intelligence”;

Department of Defense Fiscal Year 2021 Budget Request,” February 2020, pp. 1-9.
12 P.L. 115-232, Section 2, Division A, Title II, §1051.
13 Predictive maintenance uses AI “to predict the failure of critical parts, automate diagnostics, and plan maintenance
based on data and equipment condition.” Department of Defense, “Summary of the 2018 Department of Defense
Artificial Intelligence Strategy,” February 12, 2019, p. 11, at https://media.defense.gov/2019/Feb/12/2002088963/-1/-1/
1/SUMMARY-OF-DOD-AI-STRATEGY.PDF.
14 Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)/Chief Financial Officer, “Defense Budget Overview: United
States Department of Defense Fiscal Year 2021 Budget Request,” February 2020, p. 1-9, at
https://comptroller.defense.gov/Portals/45/Documents/defbudget/fy2021/fy2021_Budget_Request_Overview_Book.pdf
15 P.L. 115-232, Section 2, Division A, Title II, §238.
16 For a discussion of DOD’s rationale for developing principles for ethical AI, as well as DOD’s existing ethical
commitments related to AI, see Defense Innovation Board, “AI Principles: Recommendations on the Ethical Use of
Artificial Intelligence by the Department of Defense,” October 31, 2019, at https://media.defense.gov/2019/Oct/31/
2002204458/-1/-1/0/DIB_AI_PRINCIPLES_PRIMARY_DOCUMENT.PDF.
17 For definitions of these principles, see Department of Defense, “DOD Adopts Ethical Principles for Artificial
Intelligence,” February 24, 2020, at https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Releases/Release/Article/2091996/dod-
adopts-ethical-principles-for-artificial-intelligence/.
18 For information about the JAIC’s implementation plan, see “The DoD AI Ethical Principles—
Shifting From Principles to Practice,” April 1, 2020, at https://www.ai.mil/blog_04_01_20-
shifting_from_principles_to_practice.html.
19 P.L. 115-232, Section 2, Division A, Title X, §1051. The Commission’s Interim Report, which assesses the
challenges and opportunities of militarily relevant AI technologies, is available at https://drive.google.com/file/d/
153OrxnuGEjsUvlxWsFYauslwNeCEkvUb/view. Its first quarter recommendations, released in March 2020, are
available at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wkPh8Gb5drBrKBg6OhGu5oNaTEERbKss/view.
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Section 260 requires the Secretary of Defense to submit through 2023 biannual reports on the
JAIC to the congressional defense committees.20 These reports are to include a description of the
JAIC’s mission, objectives, activities, workforce, and organizational structure, as well as a
description of any new AI-related policies or ethical guidelines and “any steps taken by the
Center to protect systems that use artificial intelligence from any attempts to misrepresent or alter
information used or provided by artificial intelligence.”21 Finally, Section 5711 tasks the Director
of National Intelligence with periodically briefing the congressional intelligence committees on
major intelligence community AI initiatives and coordination efforts.22
China
China is widely viewed as the United States’ closest competitor in the international AI market.23
China’s 2017 “Next Generation AI Development Plan” describes AI as a “strategic technology”
that has become a “focus of international competition.”24 Recent Chinese achievements in the
field demonstrate China’s potential to realize its goals for AI development. In particular, China
has pursued language and facial recognition technologies, many of which it plans to integrate into
the country’s domestic surveillance network. Such technologies could be used to counter
espionage and aid military targeting. In addition to developing various types of air, land, sea, and
undersea autonomous military vehicles, China is actively pursuing swarm technologies, which
could be used to overwhelm adversary missile defense interceptors. Moreover, open-source
publications indicate that China is developing a suite of AI tools for cyber operations.25
China’s management of its AI ecosystem stands in stark contrast to that of the United States.26 In
general, few boundaries exist between Chinese commercial companies, university research
laboratories, the military, and the central government. China’s National Intelligence Law, for
example, requires companies and individuals to “support, assist, and cooperate with national
intelligence work.”27 As a result, the Chinese government has a direct means of guiding military
AI development priorities and accessing technology developed for civilian purposes.
Russia
Russian president Vladimir Putin has stated that “whoever becomes the leader in [AI] will
become the ruler of the world.”28 At present, however, Russian AI development lags significantly
behind that of the United States and China. As part of Russia’s effort to close this gap, Russia has
released a national strategy that outlines 5- and 10-year benchmarks for improving the country’s

20 P.L. 116-92, Section 2, Division A, Title II, §256 and §260.
21 P.L. 116-92, Section 2, Division A, Title II, §260.
22 P.L. 116-92, Section 2, Division E, Title LVII, §5711.
23 See, for example, Kai-Fu Lee, AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order (Boston, MA:
Houghton Mifflin Co., 2018).
24 China State Council, “A Next Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Plan,” p. 2.
25 Elsa Kania, Battlefield Singularity: Artificial Intelligence, Military Revolution, and China’s Future Military Power,
Center for a New American Security, November 28, 2017, p. 27.
26 Ibid., p. 6.
27 Arjun Kharpal, “Huawei says it would never hand data to China’s government. Experts say it wouldn’t have a
choice,” CNBC, March 5, 2019.
28 “‘Whoever leads in AI will rule the world’: Putin to Russian children on Knowledge Day,” RT.com, September 1,
2017, at https://www.rt.com/news/401731-ai-rule-world-putin/.
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AI expertise, educational programs, datasets, infrastructure, and legal regulatory system.29 Russia
has indicated it will continue to pursue its 2008 defense modernization agenda, which called for
robotizing 30% of the country’s military equipment by 2025.30
The Russian military has been researching a number of AI applications, with a heavy emphasis on
semiautonomous and autonomous military vehicles. Russia has also reportedly built a combat
module for unmanned ground vehicles that may be capable of autonomous target identification—
and, potentially, target engagement—and it plans to develop a suite of AI-enabled autonomous
systems.31 In addition, the Russian military plans to incorporate AI into unmanned aerial, naval,
and undersea vehicles and is reportedly developing swarming capabilities.32 These technologies
could reduce both cost and manpower requirements, potentially enabling Russia to field more
systems with fewer personnel. Russia is also exploring innovative uses of AI for remote sensing
and electronic warfare, which could in turn reduce an adversary’s ability to effectively
communicate and navigate on the battlefield.33 Finally, Russia has made extensive use of AI
technologies for domestic propaganda and surveillance, as well as for information operations
directed against the United States and U.S. allies.34
Despite Russia’s aspirations, analysts argue that it may be difficult for Russia to make significant
progress in AI development. In 2017, Russian military spending dropped by 20% in constant
dollars, with subsequent cuts in 2018.35 In addition, many analysts note that Russian academics
have produced few research papers on AI and that the Russian technology industry has yet to
produce AI applications on par with those produced by the United States and China.36 Other
analysts counter that such factors may be irrelevant, arguing that while Russia has never been a
leader in internet technology, it has managed to become a notably disruptive force in

29 Office of the President of the Russian Federation, “Decree of the President of the Russian Federation on the
Development of Artificial Intelligence in the Russian Federation” (Center for Security and Emerging Technology,
Trans.), October 10, 2019, at https://cset.georgetown.edu/wp-content/uploads/Decree-of-the-President-of-the-Russian-
Federation-on-the-Development-of-Artificial-Intelligence-in-the-Russian-Federation-.pdf.
30 Tom Simonite, “For Superpowers, Artificial Intelligence Fuels New Global Arms Race,” Wired, August 8, 2017.
31 Tristan Greene, “Russia is Developing AI Missiles to Dominate the New Arms Race,” The Next Web, July 27, 2017,
at https://thenextweb.com/artificial-intelligence/2017/07/27/russia-is-developing-ai-missiles-to-dominate-the-new-
arms-race/; and Kyle Mizokami, “Kalashnikov Will Make an A.I.-Powered Killer Robot,” Popular Mechanics, July 19,
2017, at https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/weapons/news/a27393/kalashnikov-to-make-ai-directed-
machine-guns/.
32 Samuel Bendett, “Red Robots Rising: Behind the Rapid Development of Russian Unmanned Military Systems,” The
Strategy Bridge, December 12, 2017.
33 Jill Dougherty and Molly Jay, “Russia Tries to Get Smart about Artificial Intelligence”; The Wilson Quarterly,
Spring 2018; and Margarita Konaev and Samuel Bendett, “Russian AI-Enabled Combat: Coming to a City Near You?,”
War on the Rocks, July 31, 2019, at https://warontherocks.com/2019/07/russian-ai-enabled-combat-coming-to-a-city-
near-you/.
34 Alina Polyakova, “Weapons of the Weak: Russia and AI-driven Asymmetric Warfare,” Brookings Institution,
November 15, 2018, at https://www.brookings.edu/research/weapons-of-the-weak-russia-and-ai-driven-asymmetric-
warfare/; and Chris Meserole and Alina Polyakova, “Disinformation Wars,” Foreign Policy, May 25, 2018, at
https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/05/25/disinformation-wars/.
35 “Military expenditure by country, in constant (2017) US$ m., 1988-2018,” Stockholm International Peace Research
Institute, at https://www.sipri.org/sites/default/files/
Data%20for%20all%20countries%20from%201988%E2%80%932018%20in%20constant%20%282017%29%20USD
%20%28pdf%29.pdf.
36 Leon Bershidsky, “Take Elon Musk Seriously on the Russian AI Threat,” Bloomberg, September 5, 2017, at
https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-09-05/take-elon-musk-seriously-on-the-russian-ai-threat; and Alina
Polyakova, “Weapons of the Weak: Russia and AI-driven Asymmetric Warfare,” Brookings Institution, November 15,
2018, at https://www.brookings.edu/research/weapons-of-the-weak-russia-and-ai-driven-asymmetric-warfare/.
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cyberspace.37 Russia may also be able to draw upon its growing technological cooperation with
China.38
International Institutions
A number of international institutions have examined issues surrounding AI, including the Group
of Seven (G7), the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), and the Organisation for
Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which developed the first intergovernmental
set of principles for AI.39 These principles are intended to “promote AI that is innovative and
trustworthy and that respects human rights and democratic values.”40 The United States is one of
42 countries—including the OECD’s 36 member countries, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa
Rica, Peru, and Romania—to have adopted the OECD AI Principles. These principles serve as the
foundation for the Group of Twenty’s (G20’s) June 2019 Ministerial Statement on human-
centered AI.41 In addition, the OECD established the AI Policy Observatory in 2019 to develop
policy options that will “help countries encourage, nurture, and monitor the responsible
development of trustworthy AI systems for the benefit of society.”
Potential Questions for Congress
 What measures is DOD taking to implement its ethical principles for artificial
intelligence? Are such measures sufficient to ensure DOD’s adherence to the
principles?
 Do DOD and the intelligence community have adequate information about the
state of foreign military AI applications and the ways in which such applications
may be used to harm U.S. national security?
 How should national security considerations with regard to deep fakes be
balanced with free speech protections, artistic expression, and beneficial uses of
the underlying technologies? What efforts, if any, should the U.S. government
undertake to ensure that the public is educated about deep fakes?
Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems (LAWS)42
Although there is no internationally agreed definition of lethal autonomous weapon systems,
Department of Defense Directive (DODD) 3000.09 defines LAWS as a class of weapon systems
capable of both independently identifying a target and employing an onboard weapon to engage
and destroy the target without manual human control. This concept of autonomy is also known as

37 Gregory C. Allen, “Putin and Musk Are Right: Whoever Masters AI Will Run the World,” CNN, September 5, 2017.
38 See Samuel Bendett and Elsa Kania, A New Sino-Russian High-tech Partnership, Australian Strategic Policy
Institute, October 29, 2019, at https://www.aspi.org.au/report/new-sino-russian-high-tech-partnership.
39 In May 2020, the United States joined the G7’s Global Partnership on AI, which is “to guide the responsible adoption
of AI based on shared principles of ‘human rights, inclusion, diversity, innovation and economic growth.’” Matt
O’Brien, “US joins G7 artificial intelligence group to counter China,” Associated Press, May 28, 2020.
40 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, “OECD Principles on AI,” June 2019, at
https://www.oecd.org/going-digital/ai/principles/.
41 “G20 Ministerial Statement on Trade and Digital Economy,” June 9, 2019, at https://www.mofa.go.jp/files/
000486596.pdf.
42 For additional information about LAWS, see CRS Report R44466, Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems: Issues for
Congress, by Nathan J. Lucas.
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“human out of the loop” or “full autonomy.” The directive contrasts LAWS with human-
supervised, or “human on the loop,” autonomous weapon systems, in which operators have the
ability to monitor and halt a weapon’s target engagement. Another category is semi-autonomous,
or “human in the loop,” weapon systems that “only engage individual targets or specific target
groups that have been selected by a human operator.”43
LAWS would require computer algorithms and sensor suites to classify an object as hostile, make
an engagement decision, and guide a weapon to the target. This capability would enable the
system to operate in communications-degraded or -denied environments where traditional
systems may not be able to operate. Some analysts have noted that LAWS could additionally
“allow weapons to strike military objectives more accurately and with less risk of collateral
damage” or civilian casualties.44
Others, including approximately 30 countries and 165 nongovernmental organizations, have
called for a preemptive ban on LAWS due to ethical concerns such as a perceived lack of
accountability for use and a perceived inability to comply with the proportionality and distinction
requirements of the laws of armed conflict. Some analysts have also raised concerns about the
potential operational risks posed by lethal autonomous weapons.45 These risks could arise from
“hacking, enemy behavioral manipulation, unexpected interactions with the environment, or
simple malfunctions or software errors.”46 Although such risks could be present in automated
systems, they could be heightened in autonomous systems, in which the human operator would be
unable to physically intervene to terminate engagements—potentially resulting in wider-scale or
more numerous instances of fratricide, civilian casualties, or other unintended consequences.47
United States
The United States is not known to be developing LAWS currently, nor does it currently have
LAWS in its inventory; however, there is no prohibition on the development, fielding, or
employment of LAWS. DODD 3000.09 establishes department guidelines for the future
development and fielding of LAWS to ensure that they comply with “the law of war, applicable
treaties, weapon system safety rules, and applicable rules of engagement.”48 This directive
includes a requirement that LAWS be designed to “allow commanders and operators to exercise
appropriate levels of human judgment over the use of force.”49 “Human judgment over the use of
force” does not require manual human “control” of the weapon system, as is often reported, but
instead requires broader human involvement in decisions about how, when, where, and why the
weapon will be employed.

43 Department of Defense Directive 3000.09, “Autonomy in Weapon Systems,” Updated May 8, 2017, at
https://www.esd.whs.
44 U.S. Government, “Humanitarian Benefits of Emerging Technologies in the Area of Lethal Autonomous Weapons,”
March 28, 2018, at https://www.unog.ch/80256EDD006B8954/
(httpAssets)/7C177AE5BC10B588C125825F004B06BE/$file/CCW_GGE.1_2018_WP.4.pdf.
45 See, for example, Paul Scharre, “Autonomous Weapons and Operational Risk,” Center for a New American Security,
February 2016, at https://s3.amazonaws.com/files.cnas.org/documents/CNAS_Autonomous-weapons-operational-
risk.pdf.
46 Ibid.
47 Ibid.
48 Department of Defense Directive 3000.09, “Autonomy in Weapon Systems,” Updated May 8, 2017, at
https://www.esd.whs. For an explanation of this directive, see CRS In Focus IF11150, Defense Primer: U.S. Policy on
Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems, by Kelley M. Sayler.
49 Department of Defense Directive 3000.09, “Autonomy in Weapon Systems,” Updated May 8, 2017, at
https://www.esd.whs.
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In addition, DODD 3000.09 requires that the software and hardware of all systems, including
lethal autonomous weapons, be tested and evaluated to ensure they
[f]unction as anticipated in realistic operational environments against adaptive adversaries;
complete engagements in a timeframe consistent with commander and operator intentions
and, if unable to do so, terminate engagements or seek additional human operator input
before continuing the engagement; and are sufficiently robust to minimize failures that
could lead to unintended engagements or to loss of control of the system to unauthorized
parties.
Any changes to a system’s operating state—for example, due to machine learning—would
require the system to be retested and reevaluated to ensure that it has retained its safety features
and ability to operate as intended. In addition to the standard weapons review process, LAWS
must undergo a secondary senior-level review by the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, the
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and either the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition
and Sustainment or the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering prior to both
development and fielding.
China
According to U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, some Chinese weapons manufacturers, such
as Ziyan, have advertised their weapons as having the ability to select and engage targets
autonomously.50 It is unclear whether these claims are accurate; however, China has no
prohibition on the development of LAWS, which it has characterized as weapons that exhibit—at
a minimum—five attributes:
The first is lethality, which means sufficient pay load (charge) and for means [sic] to be
lethal. The second is autonomy, which means absence of human intervention and control
during the entire process of executing a task. Thirdly, impossibility for termination,
meaning that once started there is no way to terminate the device. Fourthly, indiscriminate
effect, meaning that the device will execute the task of killing and maiming regardless of
conditions, scenarios and targets. Fifthly evolution, meaning that through interaction with
the environment the device can learn autonomously, expand its functions and capabilities
in a way exceeding human expectations.51
Russia
Russia has proposed the following definition of LAWS: “unmanned technical means other than
ordnance that are intended for carrying out combat and support missions without any involvement
of the operator” beyond the decision of whether and how to deploy the system.52 Russia has noted
that LAWS could “ensure the increased accuracy of weapon guidance on military targets, while
contributing to lower rate of unintentional strikes against civilians and civilian targets.”53
Although Russia has not publicly stated that it is developing LAWS, Russian weapons

50 Patrick Tucker, “SecDef: China is Exporting Killer Robots to the Mideast,” Defense One, November 5, 2019.
51 UN CCW, “China: Position Paper,” April 11, 2018, p. 1, at https://unog.ch/80256EDD006B8954/
(httpAssets)/E42AE83BDB3525D0C125826C0040B262/$file/CCW_GGE.1_2018_WP.7.pdf.
52 UN CCW, “Russian Federation: Potential opportunities and limitations of military uses of lethal autonomous
weapons systems,” 2019, at https://unog.ch/80256EDD006B8954/
(httpAssets)/B7C992A51A9FC8BFC12583BB00637BB9/$file/CCW.GGE.1.2019.WP.1_R+E.pdf.
53 Ibid.
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manufacturer Kalashnikov has reportedly built a combat module for unmanned ground vehicles
capable of autonomous target identification and, potentially, target engagement.54
International Institutions
Since 2014, the United States has participated in international discussions of LAWS under the
auspices of the United Nations Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (UN CCW). The
UN CCW has considered proposals by states parties to issue political declarations about LAWS,
as well as proposals to regulate or ban them. At the UN CCW, the United States and Russia have
opposed a preemptive ban on LAWS, while China has supported a ban on the use—but not
development—of LAWS, which it defines as weapon systems that are inherently indiscriminate
and thus in violation of the law of war.
Potential Questions for Congress
 To what extent are potential U.S. adversaries developing LAWS? How, if at all,
should this affect U.S. LAWS research and development?
 What role should the United States play in UN CCW discussions of LAWS?
Should the United States support the status quo, propose a political declaration,
or advocate regulation of or a ban on LAWS?
 If the United States chooses to develop LAWS, are current weapons review
processes and legal standards for their employment in conflict sufficient?
 Should the United States continue to oppose a ban on LAWS? If so, should it
consider some form of their regulation short of a complete ban?
Hypersonic Weapons55
A number of countries, including the United States, Russia, and China, are developing hypersonic
weapons—those that fly at speeds of at least Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound. There are
two categories of hypersonic weapons:
 Hypersonic glide vehicles are launched from a rocket before gliding to a
target.56
 Hypersonic cruise missiles are powered by high-speed engines throughout the
duration of their flight.
In contrast to ballistic missiles, which also travel at hypersonic speeds, hypersonic weapons do
not follow a parabolic ballistic trajectory and can maneuver en route to their destination, making
defense against them difficult.
Analysts disagree about the strategic implications of hypersonic weapons. Some have identified
two factors that could hold significant implications for strategic stability: (1) the weapon’s short
time-of-flight, which, in turn, compresses the timeline for response, and (2) its unpredictable

54 Kyle Mizokami, “Kalashnikov Will Make an A.I.-Powered Killer Robot,” Popular Mechanics, July 19, 2017.
55 For additional information about hypersonic weapons, see CRS Report R45811, Hypersonic Weapons: Background
and Issues for Congress, by Kelley M. Sayler.
56 When hypersonic glide vehicles are mated with their rocket booster, the resulting weapon system is often referred to
as a hypersonic boost-glide weapon.
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flight path, which could generate uncertainty about the weapon’s intended target and therefore
heighten the risk of miscalculation or unintended escalation in the event of a conflict.57
Other analysts have argued that the strategic implications of hypersonic weapons are minimal
because U.S. competitors such as China and Russia already possess the ability to strike the United
States with intercontinental ballistic missiles, which, when launched in salvos, could overwhelm
U.S. missile defenses.58 Furthermore, these analysts note that in the case of hypersonic weapons,
traditional principles of deterrence hold: “it is really a stretch to try to imagine any regime in the
world that would be so suicidal that it would even think threating to use—not to mention to
actually use—hypersonic weapons against the United States ... would end well.”59
United States
The Pentagon has requested $3.2 billion in its FY2021 budget request for all hypersonic-related
research. This amount includes $206.8 million for hypersonic defense programs. DOD is
currently developing hypersonic weapons under the Navy’s Conventional Prompt Strike program,
which is intended to provide the U.S. military with the ability to strike hardened or time-sensitive
targets with conventional warheads, as well as through several Air Force, Army, and DARPA
programs.60 Analysts who support these development efforts argue that hypersonic weapons could
enhance deterrence, as well as provide the U.S. military with an ability to defeat capabilities such
as advanced air and missile defense systems that form the foundation of U.S. competitors’ anti-
access/area denial strategies.61 Others have argued that hypersonic weapons confer little to no
additional warfighting advantage and note that the U.S military has yet to identify any mission
requirements for hypersonic weapons.
The United States is unlikely to field an operational hypersonic weapon before 2023; however, in
contrast to Russia and China, the United States is not developing hypersonic weapons for
potential use with a nuclear warhead. As a result, the United States is seeking to develop
hypersonic weapons that can attack targets with greater accuracy, which could be more
technically challenging to develop than nuclear-armed—and less accurate—Russian and Chinese
systems.

57 See, for example, Richard H. Speier et al., Hypersonic Missile Proliferation: Hindering the Spread of a New Class of
Weapons, RAND Corporation, 2017, at https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR2137.html.
58 David Axe, “How the U.S. Is Quietly Winning the Hypersonic Arms Race,” The Daily Beast, January 16, 2019,
at https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-the-us-is-quietly-winning-the-hypersonic-arms-race. See also Mark B.
Schneider, “Moscow’s Development of Hypersonic Missiles,” p. 14.
59 Jyri Raitasalo, “Hypersonic Weapons are No Game-Changer,” The National Interest, January 5, 2019, at
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/hypersonic-weapons-are-no-game-changer-40632.
60 In a June 2018 memorandum, DOD announced that the Navy would lead the development of a common glide vehicle
for use across the services. The services coordinate efforts on a Common Hypersonic Glide Body Board of Directors
with rotating chairmanship. Sydney J. Freedberg, Jr., “Army Ramps Up Funding for Laser Shield, Hypersonic Sword,”
Breaking Defense, February 28, 2020, at https://breakingdefense.com/2020/02/army-ramps-up-funding-for-laser-
shield-hypersonic-sword/. For a full history of U.S. hypersonic weapons programs, see CRS Report R41464,
Conventional Prompt Global Strike and Long-Range Ballistic Missiles: Background and Issues, by Amy F. Woolf.
61 Roger Zakheim and Tom Karako, “China’s Hypersonic Missile Advances and U.S. Defense Responses,” remarks at
the Hudson Institute, March 19, 2019. See also Department of Defense Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 Budget Estimates, Army
Justification Book of Research, Development, Test and Evaluation, Volume II, Budget Activity 4, p. 580.
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China
According to Tong Zhao, a fellow at the Carnegie-Tsinghua Center for Global Policy, “most
experts argue that the most important reason to prioritize hypersonic technology development [in
China] is the necessity to counter specific security threats from increasingly sophisticated U.S.
military technology” such as U.S. regional missile defenses.62 China’s pursuit of hypersonic
weapons, like Russia’s, reflects a concern that U.S. hypersonic weapons could enable the United
States to conduct a preemptive, decapitating strike on China’s nuclear arsenal and supporting
infrastructure. U.S. missile defense deployments could then limit China’s ability to conduct a
retaliatory strike against the United States.63
China has developed the DF-41 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), which, according to a
2014 report by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, could carry a nuclear
hypersonic glide vehicle.64 General Terrence O’Shaughnessy, the current commander of U.S.
Northern Command, seemed to confirm this assessment in February 2020, when he testified that
“China is testing a [nuclear-armed] intercontinental-range hypersonic glide vehicle … which is
designed to fly at high speeds and low altitudes, complicating our ability to provide precise
warning.”65
In addition, China has tested the DF-ZF hypersonic glide vehicle at least nine times since 2014.
U.S. defense officials have reportedly identified the range of the DF-ZF as approximately 1,200
miles and have stated that the missile may be capable of performing evasive maneuvers during
flight.66 Although unconfirmed by intelligence agencies, some analysts project the DF-ZF will be
operational as early as 2020.67 In addition, in August 2018 China successfully tested Starry Sky-2,
a nuclear-capable hypersonic vehicle prototype.68 Some reports indicate that the Starry Sky-2
could be operational by 2025.69 U.S. officials have declined to comment on the program.70

62 Tong Zhao, “Conventional Challenges to Strategic Stability: Chinese Perceptions of Hypersonic Technology and the
Security Dilemma,” Carnegie-Tsinghua Center for Global Policy, July 23, 2018, at https://carnegietsinghua.org/2018/
07/23/conventional-challenges-to-strategic-stability-chinese-perceptions-of-hypersonic-technology-and-security-
dilemma-pub-76894.
63 Ibid.; and Lora Saalman, “China’s Calculus on Hypersonic Glide,” August 15, 2017, Stockholm International Peace
Research Institute, at https://www.sipri.org/commentary/topical-backgrounder/2017/chinas-calculus-hypersonic-glide.
64 U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission 2014 Annual Report, p. 292, at https://www.uscc.gov/sites/
default/files/annual_reports/Complete%20Report.PDF.
65 General Terrence J. O’Shaughnessy, “Statement before the Senate Armed Services Committee,” February, 13, 2020,
at https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/OShaughnessy_02-13-20.pdf.
66 “Gliding missiles that fly faster than Mach 5 are coming,” The Economist, April 6, 2019, at
https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2019/04/06/gliding-missiles-that-fly-faster-than-mach-5-are-
coming; and Franz-Stefan Gady, “China Tests New Weapon Capable of Breaching US Missile Defense Systems,” The
Diplomat, April 28, 2016, at https://thediplomat.com/2016/04/china-tests-new-weapon-capable-of-breaching-u-s-
missile-defense-systems/.
67 U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission 2015 Annual Report, p. 20, at https://www.uscc.gov/sites/
default/files/annual_reports/2015%20Annual%20Report%20to%20Congress.PDF.
68 Jessie Yeung, “China claims to have successfully tested its first hypersonic aircraft,” CNN, August 7, 2018, at
https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/07/china/china-hypersonic-aircraft-intl/index.html. See also U.S.-China Economic and
Security Review Commission 2018 Annual Report, p. 220, at https://www.uscc.gov/sites/default/files/annual_reports/
2018%20Annual%20Report%20to%20Congress.pdf.
69 U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission Report 2015, p. 20.
70 Bill Gertz, “China Reveals Test of New Hypersonic Missile,” The Washington Free Beacon, August 10, 2018, at
https://freebeacon.com/national-security/chinas-reveals-test-new-hypersonic-missile/.
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Russia
Although Russia has conducted research on hypersonic weapons technology since the 1980s, it
accelerated its efforts in response to U.S. missile defense deployments in both the United States
and Europe, and in response to the U.S. withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in
2002.71 Detailing Russia’s concerns, President Putin stated in 2018 that “the US is permitting
constant, uncontrolled growth of the number of anti-ballistic missiles, improving their quality,
and creating new missile launching areas. If we do not do something, eventually this will result in
the complete devaluation of Russia’s nuclear potential. Meaning that all of our missiles could
simply be intercepted.”72 Russia thus seeks hypersonic weapons, which can maneuver as they
approach their targets, as an assured means of penetrating U.S. missile defenses and restoring its
sense of strategic stability.73
Russia is pursuing two nuclear-capable hypersonic weapons: the Avangard and the 3M22 Tsirkon
(or Zircon). Avangard is a hypersonic glide vehicle launched from an ICBM, giving it “effectively
‘unlimited’ range.”74 Russian news sources claim that Avangard entered into service in December
2019.75 Tsirkon, a ship-launched hypersonic cruise missile, may become operational as early as
2023.76
International Institutions
No international treaty or agreement is dedicated to overseeing the development of hypersonic
weapons. Although the New START Treaty—a strategic offensive arms treaty between the United
States and Russia—does not specifically limit hypersonic weapons, it does limit ICBMs, which
could be used to launch hypersonic glide vehicles.77 Because Russia has deployed its Avangard
hypersonic glide vehicle on an SS-19 ICBM, it has agreed that missiles equipped with Avangard
count under New START. Furthermore, Article V of the treaty states that “when a Party believes
that a new kind of strategic offensive arm is emerging, that Party shall have the right to raise the
question of such a strategic offensive arm for consideration in the Bilateral Consultative
Commission (BCC).” Accordingly, some legal experts hold that it would be possible to negotiate
provisions that would count additional types of hypersonic weapons under the New START
limits.78 However, because New START is due to expire in 2021, unless extended through 2026,

71 United Nations Office of Disarmament Affairs, Hypersonic Weapons: A Challenge and Opportunity for Strategic
Arms Control, February 2019, at https://www.un.org/disarmament/publications/more/hypersonic-weapons-a-challenge-
and-opportunity-for-strategic-arms-control/.
72 Vladimir Putin, “Presidential Address to the Federal Assembly,” March 1, 2018, at http://en.kremlin.ru/events/
president/news/56957.
73 In this instance, “strategic stability” refers to a “bilateral nuclear relationship of mutual vulnerability.” See Tong
Zhao, “Conventional Challenges to Strategic Stability: Chinese Perceptions of Hypersonic Technology and the Security
Dilemma,” Carnegie-Tsinghua Center for Global Policy, July 23, 2018, at https://carnegietsinghua.org/2018/07/23/
conventional-challenges-to-strategic-stability-chinese-perceptions-of-hypersonic-technology-and-security-dilemma-
pub-76894.
74 Steve Trimble, “A Hypersonic Sputnik?,” Aviation Week, January 14-27, 2019, p. 20.
75 “First regiment of Avangard hypersonic missile systems goes on combat duty in Russia,” TASS, December 27, 2019,
at https://tass.com/defense/1104297.
76 “Russian Navy to accept latest Tsirkon hypersonic missile for service in 2023—source,” TASS, March 20, 2019.
77 For example, Russia’s Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle is reportedly launched by an intercontinental ballistic
missile. See Rachel S. Cohen, “Hypersonic Weapons: Strategic Asset or Tactical Tool?,” Air Force Magazine, May 7,
2019, at https://www.airforcemag.com/hypersonic-weapons-strategic-asset-or-tactical-tool/.
78 James Acton notes: “during [New START] negotiations, Russia argued that boost-glide weapons might constitute ‘a
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this solution may be temporary.79 In addition, the treaty would not cover hypersonic weapons
developed in countries other than the United States and Russia.
Potential Questions for Congress
 What mission(s) will hypersonic weapons be used for? Are hypersonic weapons
the most cost-effective means of executing these potential missions?
 Given the lack of defined mission requirements for hypersonic weapons, how
should Congress evaluate funding requests for hypersonic weapons programs or
the balance of funding requests for hypersonic weapons programs, enabling
technologies, and supporting test infrastructure?
 How, if at all, will the fielding of hypersonic weapons affect strategic stability? Is
there a need for risk-mitigation measures, such as expanding New START,
negotiating new multilateral arms control agreements, or undertaking
transparency and confidence-building activities?
Directed-Energy (DE) Weapons
DOD defines directed-energy (DE) weapons as those using concentrated electromagnetic energy,
rather than kinetic energy, to “incapacitate, damage, disable, or destroy enemy equipment,
facilities, and/or personnel.”80 DE weapons could be used by ground forces in short-range air
defense (SHORAD), counter-unmanned aircraft systems (C-UAS), or counter-rocket, artillery,
and mortar (C-RAM) missions.81 DE weapons could offer low costs per shot and—assuming
access to a sufficient power supply82—nearly limitless magazines that, in contrast to existing
conventional systems, could enable an efficient and effective means of defending against missile
salvos or swarms of unmanned systems. Theoretically, DE weapons could also provide options
for boost-phase missile intercept, given their speed-of-light travel time; however, as in the case of
hypersonic missile defense, experts disagree on the affordability, technological feasibility, and
utility of this application.83

new kind of strategic offensive arm,’ in which case they would trigger bilateral discussions about whether and how
they would be regulated by the treaty—a position [then] rejected by the United States.” James M. Acton, Silver Bullet?:
Asking the Right Questions about Conventional Prompt Global Strike, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace,
2013, p. 139, at https://carnegieendowment.org/files/cpgs.pdf.
79 CRS Report R41219, The New START Treaty: Central Limits and Key Provisions, by Amy F. Woolf.
80 Joint Chiefs of Staff, Electronic Warfare, Joint Publication 3-13.1, February 8, 2012, p. 1-16.
81 For more information about the role of DE weapons in C-UAS missions, see CRS In Focus IF11426, Department of
Defense Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems, by John R. Hoehn and Kelley M. Sayler.
82 Although research has been conducted on chemically fueled lasers, most countries are now pursuing solid state
lasers, which are fueled by electrical power. As a result, the cost per shot is equivalent to the cost of the electrical
power required to fire the shot. Some analysts have noted that the cost per shot could thus be between $1 and $20. See
Ariel Robinson, “Directed Energy Weapons: Will They Ever Be Ready?,” National Defense, July 1, 2015, at
https://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/articles/2015/7/1/2015july-directed-energy-weapons-will-they-ever-be-
ready.
83 See, for example, James N. Miller and Frank A. Rose, “Bad Idea: Space-Based Interceptors and Space-Based
Directed Energy Systems,” Center for Strategic and International Studies, December 13, 2018, at
https://defense360.csis.org/bad-idea-space-based-interceptors-and-space-based-directed-energy-systems/; and Justin
Doubleday, “Pentagon punts MDA‘s laser ambitions, shifts funding toward OSD-led ‘laser scaling,’” Inside Defense,
February 19, 2020, at https://insidedefense.com/daily-news/pentagon-punts-mdas-laser-ambitions-shifts-funding-
toward-osd-led-laser-scaling.
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High-powered microwave weapons, a subset of DE weapons, could be used as a nonkinetic
means of disabling electronics, communications systems, and improvised explosive devices, or as
a nonlethal “heat ray” system for crowd control.
United States84
Although the United States has been researching directed energy since the 1960s, some experts
have observed that “actual directed-energy programs … have frequently fallen short of
expectations,” with DOD investing billions of dollars in programs that were ultimately
cancelled.85 Others contend that developments in commercial lasers could be leveraged for
military applications.86 Directed-energy weapons programs continue, however, to face questions
about their technological maturity, including questions about the ability to improve beam quality
and control to militarily useful levels and the ability to meet power, cooling, and size
requirements for integration into current platforms.87
The U.S. Navy fielded the first operational U.S. DE weapon, the Laser Weapon System (LaWS),
in 2014 aboard the USS Ponce. LaWS was a 30-kilowatt (-kW) laser prototype that “was capable
of blinding enemy forces as a warning, shooting down drones, disabling boats, or damaging
helicopters.”88 The Navy plans to deploy its 60-kW laser, HELIOS, aboard the USS Preble in
2021, while the Army plans to field its first “combat relevant” laser—the 50-kW Directed Energy
Mobile Short-Range Air Defense System—on Stryker fighting vehicles in FY2022.89 Similarly,
the Air Force is currently conducting field assessments of several counter-UAS DE systems,
including both laser and high-powered microwave systems.90
The Army, Navy, Air Force, and DARPA each have DE development programs underway, with
the Pentagon requesting $235 million for directed-energy weapons and directed-energy defensive
capabilities in FY2020; the FY2021 budget overview does not provide the topline funding request
for DE weapons.91 These programs are intended to scale up power levels from around 150 kW, as

84 For additional information about U.S. directed-energy programs, see CRS Report R44175, Navy Lasers, Railgun,
and Gun-Launched Guided Projectile: Background and Issues for Congress, by Ronald O'Rourke, and CRS Report
R45098, U.S. Army Weapons-Related Directed Energy (DE) Programs: Background and Potential Issues for
Congress, by Andrew Feickert.
85 Paul Scharre, Preface to “Directed-Energy Weapons: Promise and Prospects,” Center for a New American Security,
April 2015, p. 4.
86 See Ariel Robinson, “Directed Energy Weapons: Will They Ever Be Ready?,” National Defense, July 1, 2015, at
https://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/articles/2015/7/1/2015july-directed-energy-weapons-will-they-ever-be-
ready.
87 Ibid.
88 Kyle Mizokami, “The U.S. Army Plans To Field the Most Powerful Laser Weapon Yet,” Popular Mechanics,
August 7, 2019.
89 Lockheed Martin, “Lockheed Martin’s HELIOS Laser Weapon System Takes Step Toward Ship Integration,” March
11, 2020, at https://news.lockheedmartin.com/2020-03-11-Lockheed-Martins-HELIOS-Laser-Weapon-System-Takes-
Step-Toward-Ship-Integration; and Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)/Chief Financial Officer,
“Defense Budget Overview: United States Department of Defense Fiscal Year 2021 Budget Request,” February 2020,
at https://comptroller.defense.gov/Portals/45/Documents/defbudget/fy2021/
fy2021_Budget_Request_Overview_Book.pdf.
90 Kyle Mizokami, “The Air Force Mobilizes Its Laser and Microwave Weapons Abroad,” Popular Mechanics, April 9,
2020, at https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/weapons/a32083799/laser-microwave-weapons/.
91 Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)/Chief Financial Officer, Defense Budget Overview: United
States Department of Defense Fiscal Year 2020 Budget Request, March 2019, p. 9.
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is currently feasible, to around 300 kW, a level at which cruise missiles could potentially be
intercepted, by FY2022 and to around 500 kW by FY2024.92
China
China has reportedly developed a 30-kilowatt road-mobile DE system, LW-30, designed to
engage unmanned aerial vehicles and precision-guided weapons.93 Reports indicate that China is
also developing an airborne DE weapon pod and has used or proposed using DE weapons to
interfere with U.S. and allied military aircraft and to disrupt U.S. freedom of navigation
operations in the Indo-Pacific.94
According to the Defense Intelligence Agency, China is additionally pursuing DE weapons
to disrupt, degrade, or damage satellites and their sensors and possibly already has a limited
capability to employ laser systems against satellite sensors. China likely will field a
ground-based laser weapon that can counter low-orbit space-based sensors by 2020, and
by the mid-to-late 2020s, it may field higher power systems that extend the threat to the
structures of non-optical satellites.95
Russia
Russia claims to have fielded the Peresvet ground-based DE weapon system in December 2018.
Although little is publicly known about Peresvet, including its power level, the weapon can
reportedly disrupt Global Positioning System (GPS) and communications signals and may be able
to perform C-UAS and antisatellite missions.96
International Institutions
DE weapons “are not authoritatively defined under international law, nor are they currently on the
agenda of any existing multilateral mechanism.”97 However, certain applications of DE weapons
are prohibited. For example, Protocol IV of the CCW “Protocol on Blinding Lasers” prohibits

92 Although there is no consensus regarding the precise power level that would be needed to neutralize different target
sets, it is generally believed that a laser of around 100 kW could engage UAVs, small boats, rockets, artillery, and
mortar, whereas a laser of around 300 kW laser could additionally engage cruise missiles flying in certain profiles (i.e.,
flying across—rather than at—the laser). See, for example, CRS Report R41526, Navy Shipboard Lasers for Surface,
Air, and Missile Defense: Background and Issues for Congress, by Ronald O'Rourke; and Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.,
“Lasers to Kill Cruise Missiles Sought by Navy, Air Force, Army,” Breaking Defense, October 29, 2019. For
information about DOD’s Laser Scaling Plan, see Jason Sherman, “New Laser Scaling Plan sets directed-energy
efforts, FY-19 contracts,” Inside Defense, April 17, 2019, at https://insidedefense.com/daily-news/new-laser-scaling-
plan-sets-directed-energy-efforts-fy-19-contracts.
93 Nikolai Novichkov, “Airshow China 2018: CASIC’s LW-30 laser weapon system breaks cover,” Jane’s Defence
Weekly, November 9, 2018.
94 Andrew Tate, “China aiming to procure airborne laser-based weapon pod,” Jane’s Defence Weekly, January 8, 2020;
and Patrick M. Cronin and Ryan D. Neuhard, “Countering China’s Laser Offensive,” The Diplomat, April 2, 2020, at
https://thediplomat.com/2020/04/countering-chinas-laser-offensive/.
95 Defense Intelligence Agency, Challenges to Security in Space, February 2019, p. 20, at https://www.dia.mil/Portals/
27/Documents/News/Military%20Power%20Publications/Space_Threat_V14_020119_sm.pdf.
96 Defense Intelligence Agency, Challenges to Security in Space, p. 23, at https://www.dia.mil/Portals/27/Documents/
News/Military%20Power%20Publications/Space_Threat_V14_020119_sm.pdf; and “Putin hails new Russian laser
weapons,” Associated Press, May 17, 2019, at https://apnews.com/ff03960c48a6440bacc1c2512a7c197a.
97 “Directed Energy Weapons: Discussion paper for the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW),”
Article 36, November 2017.
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“excessively injurious” applications of DE weapons, including the use of DE weapons to
permanently blind enemy combatants. Similarly, some analysts have suggested that multilateral
agreements should be established to restrict certain military applications of lasers—such as
aircraft interference—in peacetime.98
Potential Questions for Congress
 Does the technological maturity of DE weapons warrant current funding levels?
To what extent, if at all, can advances in commercial lasers be leveraged for
military applications?
 How successful have U.S. field tests of DE weapons been? Are any changes to
operational concepts, rules of engagement, or tactics required to optimize the use
of DE weapons or deconflict the use of DE weapons with other U.S. military
operations?
 Are any additional restrictions on the use of DE weapons necessary and, if so,
what kind?
Biotechnology
Biotechnology leverages life sciences for technological applications. A number of developments
in biotechnology hold potential implications for the U.S. military and for international security
writ large. As a 2018 Government Accountability Office report notes, the Departments of
Defense, State, and Homeland Security, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence
assess that biotechnologies, such as the low-cost gene-editing tool CRISPR,99 have the potential
to
alter genes or create DNA to modify plants, animals, and humans. Such biotechnologies
could be used to enhance [or degrade] the performance of military 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 biological
weapons.100
Similarly, the U.S. intelligence community’s 2016 Worldwide Threat Assessment cited genome
editing as a potential weapon of mass destruction.101
In addition, biotechnology could be used to create adaptive camouflage, cloaking devices, or
lighter, stronger, and—potentially—self-healing body and vehicle armor.102 Concerns have been
raised that U.S. competitors may not hold the same ethical standards in the research and

98 Patrick M. Cronin and Ryan D. Neuhard, “Countering China’s Laser Offensive,” The Diplomat, April 2, 2020, at
https://thediplomat.com/2020/04/countering-chinas-laser-offensive/.
99 For a general overview of CRISPR, see CRS Report R44824, Advanced Gene Editing: CRISPR-Cas9, by Marcy E.
Gallo et al.
100 Government Accountability Office, National Security: Long-Range Emerging Threats Facing the United States as
Identified by Federal Agencies, December 2018, at https://www.gao.gov/assets/700/695981.pdf.
101 James R. Clapper, “Statement for the Record: Worldwide Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community,”
delivered before the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services, February 9, 2016.
102 Patrick Tucker, “The US Army Is Making Synthetic Biology a Priority,” Defense One, July 1, 2019; and “Army
scientists explore synthetic biology potential,” U.S. Army, June 24, 2019, at https://www.army.mil/article/223495/
army_scientists_explore_synthetic_biology_potential.
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application of biotechnologies, particularly regarding biological weapons, genome editing, or
more invasive forms of human performance modification.103
United States
Pursuant to Section 1086 of the FY2017 NDAA (P.L. 114-328),104 the Trump Administration
released the National Biodefense Strategy, which outlines “how the United States Government
will manage its activities more effectively to assess, prevent, detect, prepare for, respond to, and
recover from biological threats, coordinating its biodefense efforts with those of international
partners, industry, academia, non-governmental entities, and the private sector.”105 As some
analysts have noted, however, this strategy was not accompanied by a resourced action plan and,
thus, was “largely unimplemented.”106 Furthermore, there is no DOD-specific biotechnology
research strategy.107
Unclassified U.S. biotechnology programs with military applications center primarily on
improving “readiness, resilience, and recovery.” DARPA, for example, has a number of
biotechnology programs devoted to battlefield medicine, diagnostics, and prognostics. It is also
exploring options for mitigating the effects of traumatic brain injury, treating neuropsychiatric
illnesses such as depression and post-traumatic stress, and protecting against infectious diseases
and bio-engineered threats to the U.S. food supply. In addition, DARPA’s Safe Genes program
seeks “to [protect] service members from accidental or intentional misuse of genome editing
technologies.”108 Biotechnology research is also being conducted at the service laboratories,
which recently completed a $45 million, three-year joint research initiative in synthetic biology
“intended to develop new bio-based materials and sensors.”109
In addition, some reports suggest that the United States is researching or has previously
researched biotechnology and neuroscience applications to increase soldier lethality, including
applications to make soldiers “stronger, smarter, [and] more capable, and … give them more
endurance than other humans.”110 Some groups have expressed ethical concerns about this

103 James R. Clapper, “Statement for the Record: Worldwide Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community,”
delivered before the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services, February 9, 2016; and Daniel R. Coats, “Statement for
the Record: Worldwide Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community,” delivered before the U.S. Senate
Committee on Armed Services, March 6, 2018. Although the U.S. military has long used certain drugs such as caffeine,
modafinil, dextroamphetamine, and various sleep aids to enhance soldier performance, it bans other performance-
enhancing drugs and techniques such as anabolic steroids and blood doping. See Paul Scharre and Lauren Fish, Human
Performance Enhancement, Center for a New American Security, November 7, 2018, at https://www.cnas.org/
publications/reports/human-performance-enhancement-1.
104 P.L. 114-328, Section 2, Division A, Title X, §1086.
105 The White House, National Biodefense Strategy, 2018, at https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/
National-Biodefense-Strategy.pdf.
106 See, for example, Tara O’Toole, “Remarks at ‘Synthetic Biology and National Security: Risks and Opportunities,’”
Center for Strategic and International Studies, April 14, 2020.
107 Diane Dieuliis, “Biotechnology for the Battlefield: In Need of a Strategy,” War on the Rocks, November 27, 2018.
There is, however, a coordinated framework for biotechnology regulation. See “Modernizing the Regulatory System
for Biotechnology Products: Final Version of the 2017 Update to the Coordinated Framework for the Regulation of
Biotechnology,” January 2017, at https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2017-01/documents/
2017_coordinated_framework_update.pdf.
108 See Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, “Our Research: Biological Technologies Office,” at
https://www.darpa.mil/our-research?tFilter=&oFilter=1.
109 Marisa Alia-Novobilski, “Tri-Service effort leverages synthetic biology expertise to address future warfighter
needs,” Wright-Patterson AFB, September 27, 2017.
110 Annie Jacobsen, The Pentagon’s Brain: An Uncensored History of DARPA, America’s Top-Secret Military
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research; although the United States had a series of presidential bioethics commissions between
1974 and 2017, there is no current national framework for examining ethical concerns.111
Finally, per Section 263 of the FY2020 NDAA, DOD is to conduct “a review of the military
understanding and relevancy of applications of emerging biotechnologies to national security
requirements of the Department of Defense,” as well as “an assessment of the technical basis
within the Department used to inform the intelligence community of the Department’s collection
and analysis needs relating to emerging biotechnologies.”112 DOD is additionally to develop a
recommendation on the appropriate definition of “emerging biotechnologies” and provide
recommendations for future legislative and administrative activities.113
China
Motivated by an aging population and growing health care needs, China has been particularly
interested in conducting biotechnology research. Biotechnology is cited as a key strategic priority
within China’s Made in China 2025 initiative and is additionally highlighted within China’s
current five-year development plan.114 In particular, China is aggressively pursuing
biotechnologies for genetic testing and precision medicine. In 2016, Chinese scientists became
the first to use the CRISPR gene-editing tool on humans, and in 2018, a Chinese scientist
produced—perhaps with the approval of the Chinese government—the first “gene-edited
babies.”115 In addition, China maintains one of the world’s largest repositories of genetic
information, the National Genebank, which includes U.S. genetic data. Such information could be
used to develop personalized disease treatment plans or, potentially, precision bioweapons.116
Open-source information about China’s research into specific military applications of
biotechnology is limited; however, China’s policy of military-civil fusion would enable the
Chinese military to readily leverage developments in civilian biotechnology.117 Furthermore,
reports indicate that China’s Central Military Commission “has funded projects on military brain
science, advanced biomimetic systems, biological and biomimetic materials, human performance

Research Agency (New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2015). See also Michael Joseph Gross, “The Pentagon’s
Push to Program Soldiers’ Brains,” The Atlantic, November 2018, at https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/
2018/11/the-pentagon-wants-to-weaponize-the-brain-what-could-go-wrong/570841/.
111 For a history of these commissions, see Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues, “History of
Bioethics Commissions,” archived January 15, 2017, at https://bioethicsarchive.georgetown.edu/pcsbi/history.html.
112 P.L. 116-92, Section 2, Division A, Title II, §263.
113 Ibid.
114 Shannon Ellis, “Biotech Booms in China,” Nature, January 17, 2018.
115 Amidst international outcry, China later sentenced the scientist to three years in jail and termed his work “extremely
abominable in nature.” Michael Standaert, “'Extremely abominable’: Chinese gene-editing scientist faces law,” Al
Jazeera, November 26, 2018. See also, Elsa Kania, “Weaponizing Biotech: How China’s Military Is Preparing for a
‘New Domain of Warfare,’” Defense One, August 14, 2019.
116 David J. Lynch, “Biotechnology: the US-China dispute over genetic data,” Financial Times, July 31, 2017. See also
Elsa Kania and Wilson VornDick, “China’s Military Biotech Frontier: CRISPR, Military-Civil Fusion, and the New
Revolution in Military Affairs,” The Jamestown Foundation, October 8, 2019, at https://jamestown.org/program/
chinas-military-biotech-frontier-crispr-military-civil-fusion-and-the-new-revolution-in-military-affairs/.
117 Elsa Kania and Wilson VornDick, “Weaponizing Biotech: How China’s Military Is Preparing for a ‘New Domain of
Warfare,’” Defense One, August 14, 2019, at https://www.defenseone.com/ideas/2019/08/chinas-military-pursuing-
biotech/159167/.
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enhancement, and ‘new concept’ biotechnology,” while the Chinese military’s medical
institutions have conducted extensive research on CRISPR gene editing.118
Russia
Although Russia released BIO2020—a whole-of-government strategy for improving the standing
of Russia’s biotechnology sector—in 2012, biotechnology research in Russia continues to lag
behind that of the United States and China.119 BIO2020 identifies Russia’s priority areas for
biotechnology research as biopharmaceutics and biomedicine, industrial biotechnology and
bioenergetics, agricultural and food biotechnology, forest biotechnology, environmental
protection biotechnology, and marine biotechnology.120
Little information is publicly available on how Russia might employ such dual-use technologies
within a military or national security context. However, the accusation that the country recently
attempted to assassinate a former double agent for the United Kingdom using a Novichok nerve
agent—in violation of the 1992 Chemical Weapons Convention—suggests that it may be
similarly unrestrained in weaponizing biological agents, including those derived from synthetic
biology.121 Indeed, the Soviet Union is known to have maintained an extensive, long-standing
biological weapons program, Biopreparat, in violation of the 1972 Biological Weapons
Convention.122
International Institutions
Only the weaponization of biotechnology is prohibited under international law.123 Some
international institutions have demonstrated interest in considering broader implications of
biotechnologies. For example, since 1983, ASEAN has maintained a subcommittee on
biotechnology that facilitates coordination of regional biotechnology projects. Similarly, since
1993, the OECD has maintained an Internal Co-ordination Group for Biotechnology that
monitors developments in biotechnology and facilitates coordination among various sectors
involved in biotechnology research (e.g., agriculture, science and technology, environment,
industry). In addition, the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity is charged with
governing the development and use of genetically modified organisms.124 These entities are not,
however, focused specifically on military applications of biotechnology.
In terms of potential militarization, the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention requires review
conferences, which every five years assess both the implementation of the treaty and ongoing
developments in biotechnology. Annual meetings are held between review conferences to

118 Ibid.
119 Russian Federation, “BIO2020: Summary of the State Coordination Program for the Development of Biotechnology
in the Russian Federation,” 2012.
120 Ibid.
121 Mark Urban, “Salisbury attack ‘evidence’ of Russian weapon stockpile,” BBC, March 4, 2019. For a full assessment
of the potential national security threats posed by synthetic biology, see the Committee on Strategies for Identifying
and Addressing Potential Biodefense Vulnerabilities Posed by Synthetic Biology Consensus Report: Biodefense in the
Age of Synthetic Biology, National Academy of Sciences, 2018, at http://nap.edu/24890.
122 Lukas Trakimavičius “Is Russia Violating the Biological Weapons Convention?,” Atlantic Council, May 23, 2018,
at https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticist/is-russia-violating-the-biological-weapons-convention/.
123 The United States, China, and Russia have ratified the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention, which is a legally
binding treaty that bans the development and production of biological weapons.
124 The United States is not a party to this convention or its associated protocols.
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informally consider relevant topics, as well as to address national bilateral and multilateral efforts
to enhance biosecurity. Some analysts have argued that an international framework should be
established to consider the militarization of biotechnologies and discuss potential regulation of or
limits on certain applications.125
Potential Questions for Congress
 Is a DOD biotechnology strategy or organization needed to identify research
priorities and coordinate department-wide research? What, if any, resources or
organizational changes would be required to fully implement a national
biodefense strategy?
 What military applications of biotechnologies are U.S. competitors developing?
Is the U.S. military appropriately balancing the potential warfighting utility of
biotechnologies with ethical considerations?
 What, if any, national and international frameworks are needed to consider the
ethical, moral, and legal implications of military applications of biotechnologies
such as synthetic biology, genome editing, and human performance
modification?
Quantum Technology
Quantum technology translates the principles of quantum physics into technological
applications.126 In general, quantum technology has not yet reached maturity; however, it could
hold significant implications for the future of military communications, encryption, and stealth
technologies. GAO reports that DOD, State, DHS, and the ODNI have assessed that “quantum
communications could enable adversaries to develop secure communications that U.S. personnel
would not be able to intercept or decrypt. Quantum computing may allow adversaries to decrypt
[unclassified, classified, or sensitive] information, which could enable them to target U.S.
personnel and military operations.”127
Quantum technology could have other military applications, such as quantum radar systems
hypothesized to be capable of identifying the performance characteristics (e.g., radar cross-
section, speed) of objects with a greater level of accuracy than conventional radar systems. If

125 See, for example, Brett Edwards, “We’ve got to talk: The militarization of biotechnology,” Bulletin of the Atomic
Scientists, August 4, 2017, at https://thebulletin.org/2017/08/weve-got-to-talk-the-militarization-of-biotechnology/.
126 These principles include superposition—in which “a quantum system can exist in two or more states at once”—and
entanglement—in which “two or more quantum objects in a system can be intrinsically linked such that measurement
of one dictates the possible measurement outcomes for another, regardless of how far apart the two objects are.” Emily
Grumbling and Mark Horowitz, eds., Quantum Computing: Progress and Prospects, National Academy of Sciences,
2019, at https://www.nap.edu/read/25196/chapter/1. For additional information about quantum technology, see CRS
Report R45409, Quantum Information Science: Applications, Global Research and Development, and Policy
Considerations, by Patricia Moloney Figliola.
127 Government Accountability Office, National Security: Long-Range Emerging Threats Facing the United States as
Identified by Federal Agencies, December 2018, at https://www.gao.gov/assets/700/695981.pdf. Significant advances
in quantum computing will likely be required to break current encryption methods. Indeed, some analysts believe that a
quantum computer with around 20 million qubits—shorthand for “quantum bits,” or computing units that leverage the
principle of superposition—would be required to break these methods; the most advanced quantum computers today
have around 53 qubits. See “How a quantum computer could break 2048-bit RSA encryption in 8 hours,” MIT
Technology Review, May 30, 2019, at https://www.technologyreview.com/2019/05/30/65724/how-a-quantum-
computer-could-break-2048-bit-rsa-encryption-in-8-hours/.
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realized, these systems could significantly ease the tracking and targeting of U.S. low-observable,
or stealth, aircraft such as the F-22, F-35, and B-2 by adversaries.128 Similarly, advances in
quantum sensing could theoretically enable significant improvements in submarine detection,
rendering the oceans “transparent.”129 This could, in turn, compromise the survivability of the
U.S. sea-based nuclear deterrent.
Military application of such technologies could be constrained, however, by the fragility of
quantum states, which can be disrupted by minute movements, changes in temperature, or other
environmental factors. As physicist Mikkel Hueck has explained, “if future devices that use
quantum technologies [continue to] require cooling to very cold temperatures, then this will make
them expensive, bulky, and power hungry.” As a result, widespread adoption will likely require
significant advances in materials science and fabrication techniques.
United States
According to a Defense Science Board’s Task Force on Applications of Quantum Technologies
assessment, three applications of quantum technologies demonstrate the most promise for the
U.S. military: quantum sensing, quantum computing, and quantum communications.130 The task
force notes that quantum sensing could “dramatically improve” DOD’s ability to conduct certain
missions, providing precision navigation and timing options in environments in which GPS is
degraded or denied; that quantum computers could “potentially give DOD substantial
computation power” for decryption, signals processing, and AI; and that quantum
communications could improve networking technologies.131 The task force concludes that
“quantum sensing applications are currently poised for mission use whereas quantum computing
and communications are in earlier stages of development…. Quantum radar will not provide
upgraded capability to DOD.”132 Both DARPA and the services fund an array of quantum
technology programs across these and other research areas.
Per Section 234 of the FY2019 NDAA, the Secretary of Defense—acting through the Under
Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering—is tasked with coordinating these programs
and providing “for interagency cooperation and collaboration on quantum information science
and technology research and development between the Department of Defense and other
departments and agencies of the United States and appropriate private sector entities.”133 DOD is
additionally to develop a research and investment plan for quantum technologies and to submit to
the congressional defense committees, by December 31, 2020, an assessment of U.S. and foreign
efforts to use quantum technologies for military applications.134 Furthermore, Section 220 of the
FY2020 NDAA requires DOD to develop ethical guidelines for the use of quantum technologies,

128 Martin Giles, “The US and China are in a quantum arms race that will transform warfare,” MIT Technology Review,
January 3, 2019, at https://www.technologyreview.com/2019/01/03/137969/us-china-quantum-arms-race/.
129 Michael J. Biercuk and Richard Fontaine, “The Leap into Quantum Technology: A Primer for National Security
Professionals,” War on the Rocks, November 17, 2017, at https://warontherocks.com/2017/11/leap-quantum-
technology-primer-national-security-professionals/.
130 Defense Science Board, Applications of Quantum Technologies: Executive Summary, October 2019, at
https://dsb.cto.mil/reports.htm.
131 Ibid.
132 Ibid.
133 P.L. 115-232, Section 2, Division A, Title II, §234.
134 Ibid. A DOD representative also sits on the National Quantum Coordination Office’s Subcommittee on Quantum
Information Sciences, as required by the National Quantum Initiative Act (P.L. 115-368).
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as well as plans for supporting the quantum workforce and reducing the cybersecurity risks
associated with quantum technologies.135 It additionally requires DOD to
establish or designate [at least one] defense laboratory or establish activities to engage with
appropriate public and private sector organizations, including academic organizations, to
enhance and accelerate the research, development, and deployment of quantum
information sciences and quantum information science-enabled technologies and
systems.136
China
China has increasingly prioritized quantum technology research within its development plans.137
Indeed, President Xi has cited quantum communications and quantum computing as key research
initiatives “prioritized for major breakthroughs by 2030,” an objective that is also cited in the
country’s National Science and Technology Innovation Program.138 China is already a world
leader in quantum technology. In 2016, China launched the world’s first quantum satellite to
provide a “global quantum encrypted communications capability.” In 2017, China hosted the first
quantum-secured intercontinental videoconference.139 Furthermore, China is investing heavily in
terrestrial quantum communications networks. It completed construction of a 2,000 kilometer
(approximately 1250 miles) Beijing-Shanghai quantum network in 2016 and plans to expand that
network nationwide in the years to come.140 While such advances in quantum technology have
been driven primarily by academia, China has expressed its intent to leverage them for military
applications in the country’s Thirteenth Five-Year S&T Military-Civil Fusion Special Projects
Plan.
Russia
Russian development of quantum technology, as with artificial intelligence, lags significantly
behind that of the United States and China, with some analysts noting that Russia is likely “5 to
10 years behind” in quantum computing.141 In an effort to spur development, Russia announced
plans in December 2019 to invest $790 million in quantum research over the next five years and
adopted a five-year Russian Quantum Technologies Roadmap.142 These initiatives are not
military-specific, however, and limited information is available in open sources about how Russia
might apply them to its military.

135 P.L. 116-92, Section 2, Division A, Title II, §220.
136 Ibid.
137 For a history of China’s quantum technology research and development initiatives, see Elsa B. Kania and John
Costello, Quantum Hegemony?: China’s Ambitions and the Challenge to U.S. Innovation Leadership, Center for a New
American Security, September 2018, p. 8, at https://s3.amazonaws.com/files.cnas.org/documents/CNASReport-
Quantum-Tech_FINAL.pdf?mtime=20180912133406.
138 Ibid., p. 6.
139 Office of the Secretary of Defense, Annual Report to Congress: Military and Security Developments Involving the
People’s Republic of China 2019, May 2, 2019, p. 101, at https://media.defense.gov/2019/May/02/2002127082/-1/-1/1/
2019_CHINA_MILITARY_POWER_REPORT.pdf.
140 Elsa B. Kania and John Costello, Quantum Hegemony?: China’s Ambitions and the Challenge to U.S. Innovation
Leadership, p. 14.
141 Quirin Schiermeier, “Russia joins race to make quantum dreams a reality,” Nature, December 17, 2019, at
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-03855-z.
142 For comparison, the U.S. National Quantum Initiative Act (P.L. 115-368), signed into law in December 2018,
commits the United States to investing $1.25 billion in quantum research over five years.
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International Institutions
No major international institutions have formal initiatives devoted to monitoring or regulating
military or other applications of quantum technology.
Potential Questions for Congress
 Does the maturity of military applications of quantum technology warrant current
funding levels? To what extent, if at all, can advances in commercial quantum
technology be leveraged for military applications?
 Are adequate measures being taken to develop quantum-resistant encryption and
to protect data that has been encrypted using current methods?
 How mature are U.S. competitor efforts to develop military applications of
quantum technologies? To what extent, if at all, could such efforts threaten
advanced U.S. military capabilities such as submarines and fifth-generation
stealth aircraft?
Potential Implications of Emerging Technologies
for Warfighting
The implications of emerging technologies for warfighting and strategic stability are difficult—if
not impossible—to predict, as they will be a function of many factors, including the rate of
technological advancement in both the United States and competitor nations, the manner in which
emerging technologies are integrated into existing military forces and concepts of operation, the
interactions between emerging technologies, and the extent to which national policies and
international law enable or inhibit their development, integration, and use.
Nonetheless, many emerging technologies exhibit characteristics that could potentially affect the
future character of war. For example, developments in technologies such as AI, big data analytics,
and lethal autonomous weapons could diminish or remove the need for a human operator. This
could, in turn, increase combat efficiency and accelerate the pace of combat—potentially with
destabilizing consequences.
Emerging technologies such as low-cost drones could shift the balance between quality—upon
which U.S. military forces have traditionally relied—and quantity, as well as between offense and
defense. For example, swarms of coordinated, unmanned vehicles could overwhelm defensive
systems, providing a greater advantage to the attacker, while directed-energy weapons that
provide a low-cost means of neutralizing such attacks, could favor the defender. Thus, emerging
technologies could shift the offense-defense balance multiple times over the coming decades.
Interactions among emerging technologies could also improve existing military capabilities or
enable new capabilities—with unforeseen consequences for warfighting and strategic stability.
For example, an enabling technology like AI could be paired with quantum computing to produce
more powerful methods of machine learning, potentially leading to improvements in image
recognition and target identification and enabling more sophisticated autonomous weapons.
Similarly, AI could be paired with 5G communications technologies to enable virtual training
environments or with biotechnology in a “brain-computer interface” to enhance human cognition
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or control prosthetics or robotic systems.143 Such developments could, in turn, require new
strategies, tactics, and concepts of operation.144
Emerging military technologies—particularly complex systems such as AI and LAWS—could
additionally produce unintended consequences if they fail to perform as anticipated. These
consequences could range from system failure to violations of the law of armed conflict. As
analyst Paul Scharre has noted, “in the most extreme case, an autonomous weapon could continue
engaging inappropriate targets until it exhausts its magazine, potentially over a wide area.”145 This
could, in turn, result in mass fratricide or civilian casualties—a possibility that has led some
analysts to call for a pre-emptive ban on LAWS.
Finally, emerging military technologies could raise an array of ethical considerations. For
example, some analysts have argued that the use of LAWS would be inherently immoral—
regardless of whether the weapon could be used legally—because a human operator would not
make specific target selection and engagement decisions.146 Others have countered that human
operators would continue to exercise “appropriate levels of human judgement over the use of
force” and would remain accountable for ensuring that the deployment of LAWS conforms to the
requirements of the laws of armed conflict.147 Those supporting a pre-emptive ban on LAWS have
additionally appealed to the Martens Clause, which appears in the1899 Hague Convention
preamble and states that weapons usage should conform to the “principles of humanity and the
dictates of the public conscience.”148 These analysts believe that LAWS contravene that
requirement; however, others have noted that the Martens Clause has not been used previously to
ban a weapons system and, furthermore, that the legal status of the Martens Clause is
questionable and instead constitutes “merely a recognition of ‘customary international law’.”149
Similarly, some analysts have raised ethical concerns about applications of biotechnology that
involve human testing or modification as well as the weaponization of biotechnology, which
could potentially be used for targeted genetic attacks.150

143 For additional information about military applications of 5G, see CRS In Focus IF11251, National Security
Implications of Fifth Generation (5G) Mobile Technologies, by John R. Hoehn and Kelley M. Sayler.
144 For a discussion of these and other military and security implications—including implications for deterrence, crisis
stability, force posture, and military roles and missions—see Robert O. Work and Shawn Brimley, 20YY: Preparing for
War in the Robotic Age, Center for a New American Century, January 22, 2014, pp. 31-35, at https://www.cnas.org/
publications/reports/20yy-preparing-for-war-in-the-robotic-age.
145 Paul Scharre, “Autonomous Weapons and Operational Risk,” Center for a New American Security, February 2016,
at https://s3.amazonaws.com/files.cnas.org/documents/CNAS_Autonomous-weapons-operational-risk.pdf.
146 See, for example, Bonnie Docherty, Heed the Call: A Moral and Legal Imperative to Ban Killer Robots, Human
Rights Watch, August 21, 2018, at https://www.hrw.org/report/2018/08/21/heed-call/moral-and-legal-imperative-ban-
killer-robots.
147 Department of Defense Directive 3000.09, “Autonomy in Weapon Systems,” Updated May 8, 2017, at
https://www.esd.whs.
148 See, for example, Bonnie Docherty, Heed the Call: A Moral and Legal Imperative to Ban Killer Robots, Human
Rights Watch, August 21, 2018, at https://www.hrw.org/report/2018/08/21/heed-call/moral-and-legal-imperative-ban-
killer-robots.
149 Paul Scharre, Army of None: Autonomous Weapons and the Future of War (New York: W.W. Norton & Company,
2018), pp. 263-266.
150 For a more in-depth discussion of ethical considerations related to biotechnology, see CRS Report R44824,
Advanced Gene Editing: CRISPR-Cas9, by Marcy E. Gallo et al. See also Elsa Kania and Wilson VornDick, “China’s
Military Biotech Frontier: CRISPR, Military-Civil Fusion, and the New Revolution in Military Affairs,” The
Jamestown Foundation, October 8, 2019, at https://jamestown.org/program/chinas-military-biotech-frontier-crispr-
military-civil-fusion-and-the-new-revolution-in-military-affairs/.
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Issues for Congress
Congress has previously demonstrated interest in conducting oversight of emerging military
technologies beyond technology-specific activities. In Section 247 of the FY2019 NDAA,
Congress specified “a set of classified reports that set forth a direct comparison between the
capabilities of the United States in emerging technology areas and the capabilities of adversaries
of the United States.”151 These areas include hypersonic weapons, AI, quantum technology,
directed energy weapons, and other relevant technologies as determined by the Secretary of
Defense. Section 225 of the FY2019 NDAA additionally tasked the Under Secretary of Defense
for Research and Engineering with generating procedures for developing “technologies that are
urgently needed to react to a technological development of an adversary of the United States or to
respond to a significant and urgent emerging technology [that are] not receiving appropriate
research funding or attention from the Department of Defense.”
Furthermore, Section 232 of the FY2020 NDAA (P.L. 116-92) tasked the Secretary of Defense
with developing “a process to ensure that the policies of the Department of Defense relating to
emerging technology are formulated and updated continuously as such technology is developed
by the Department.”152
As Congress continues to review the Pentagon’s plans for emerging military technologies during
the annual authorization and appropriations process, it might consider issues surrounding funding
considerations, management, personnel, acquisition, technology protection, and governance and
regulation.
Funding Considerations
A number of emerging military technologies, including hypersonic weapons and directed energy
weapons, have experienced fluctuations in funding over the years. According to a U.S.
government interagency task force on the defense industrial base, such “fluctuations challenge the
viability of suppliers within the industrial base by diminishing their ability to hire and retain a
skilled workforce, [achieve] production efficiencies, and in some cases, [stay] in business.”153
Other analysts have noted that such fluctuations are often due to unavoidable tradeoffs between
technology investment priorities or to questions about a given technology’s feasibility or
maturity.154

151 Each report is to include the following elements: “(1) an evaluation of spending by the United States and adversaries
on such technology, (2) an evaluation of the quantity and quality of research on such technology, (3) an evaluation of
the test infrastructure and workforce supporting such technology, (4) an assessment of the technological progress of the
United States and adversaries on such technology, (5) descriptions of timelines for operational deployment of such
technology, [and] (6) an assessment of the intent or willingness of adversaries to use such technology.”
152 Section 232 defines emerging technology as “technology determined to be in an emerging phase of development by
the Secretary of Defense, including quantum computing, technology for the analysis of large and diverse sets of data
(commonly known as ‘big data analytics’), artificial intelligence, autonomous technology, robotics, directed energy,
hypersonics, biotechnology, and such other technology as may be identified by the Secretary.”
153 Interagency Task Force in Fulfillment of Executive Order 13806, Assessing and Strengthening the Manufacturing
and Defense Industrial Base and Supply Chain Resiliency of the United States, September 2018, p. 21, at
https://media.defense.gov/2018/Oct/05/2002048904/-1/-1/1/ASSESSING-AND-STRENGTHENING-THE-
MANUFACTURING-AND%20DEFENSE-INDUSTRIAL-BASE-AND-SUPPLY-CHAIN-RESILIENCY.PDF.
154 See, for example, Ariel Robinson, “Directed Energy Weapons: Will They Ever Be Ready?,” National Defense, July
1, 2015, at https://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/articles/2015/7/1/2015july-directed-energy-weapons-will-they-
ever-be-ready.
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Some analysts have suggested that, given the potential for technological surprise, funding for
overall research and development is inadequate—particularly in light of the 9% reduction in the
FY2021 President’s budget request for federal research and development. Summarizing such
views, technology expert Martjin Rasser notes that reducing overall research and development in
order to enable “big bets” or heavy investments in a particular technology or technologies, can be
a risky approach because “we just don’t know where the next breakthroughs will come from.”155
Management
In general, DOD manages each of the aforementioned emerging military technologies separately
due to the distinct expertise required. For example, within the Office of the Under Secretary of
Defense for Research and Engineering (USD[R&E]), there are separate technical directors or
assistant directors for artificial intelligence, autonomy, hypersonic weapons, directed energy,
biotechnology, and quantum science—among other technology areas—which report through the
Director for Modernization to USD(R&E).156 Development of each of these technologies is
guided by a standalone technology roadmap and, in the case of AI, a classified strategy. Although
the Director for Modernization has oversight over emerging military technologies, some analysts
have suggested that there is a need for a more holistic approach to portfolio management that
better considers how such technologies might be combined and integrated.157
Furthermore, senior leaders do not always agree on the priorities among emerging military
technologies—both in terms of effort and funding—and such priorities can shift frequently. This
fluctuation has led some analysts to suggest that DOD should adopt a technology strategy “to set
spending priorities that can be sustained over time, outlasting individual leaders.”158
Personnel
Some reports indicate that DOD and the defense industry have difficulty recruiting and retaining
personnel with expertise in emerging technologies because research funding and salaries
significantly lag behind those of commercial companies.159 Other reports suggest that such
challenges stem from quality-of-life factors, as well as from a belief among many technology
workers that “they can achieve large-scale change faster and better outside the government than
within it.”160 DOD faces additional challenges in training and educating its standing workforce.

155 See, for example, Will Knight, “Trump Proposes a Cut in Research Spending, but a Boost for AI,” Wired, February
11, 2020, at https://www.wired.com/story/trump-proposes-cut-research-spending-boost-ai/. For more information about
federal R&D funding, including a discussion of DOD R&D funding, see CRS Report R46341, Federal Research and
Development (R&D) Funding: FY2021, coordinated by John F. Sargent Jr.
156 CRS In Focus IF10834, Defense Primer: Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, by Marcy E.
Gallo.
157 See, for example, Government Accountability Office, Weapon System Acquisitions: Opportunities Exist to Improve
the Department of Defense’s Portfolio Management, August 2015, at https://www.gao.gov/assets/680/672205.pdf; and
Pete Modigliani, After the divorce: How the Pentagon can position itself for speed, agility, and innovation in the new
era of acquisitions, MITRE, March 2019, at https://www.mitre.org/sites/default/files/publications/pr-18-03404-3-after-
the-divorce-white-paper.pdf.
158 Paul Scharre and Ainikki Riikonen, “The Defense Department Needs a Real Technology Strategy,” Defense One,
April 21, 2020, at https://www.defenseone.com/ideas/2020/04/pentagon-needs-technology-strategy/164764/.
159 M.L. Cummings, “Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Warfare,” Chatham House, January 2017, p. 11, at
https://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/default/files/publications/research/2017-01-26-artificial-intelligence-future-
warfare-cummings-final.pdf.
160 Amy Zegart and Kevin Childs, “The Divide between Silicon Valley and Washington Is a National-Security Threat,”
The Atlantic, December 13, 2018, at https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/12/growing-gulf-between-silicon-
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Examples of recommendations for addressing this set of challenges include increasing technology
education opportunities at military academies, enhancing partnerships between DOD and research
universities, creating government fellowships and accelerated promotion tracks for technology
workers, and improving the technology literacy of human resource teams.161
Acquisition
DOD may need to continue adjusting its acquisition process to account for rapidly evolving dual-
use technologies such as AI.162 For example, a 2017 internal study of the process found that it
takes an average of 81 months for information technology programs to move from the initial
Analysis of Alternatives, defining the requirements for a system, to an Initial Operational
Capability.163 In contrast, commercial companies typically execute an iterative development
process for software systems (such as those involved in AI capabilities), delivering an initial
product in six to nine months.164 These findings prompted DOD to issue an interim software
acquisition policy intended to “[simplify] the acquisition model to enable continuous integration
and delivery of software capability on timelines relevant to the Warfighter/end user.”165 Similar
efforts may be needed for other emerging military technologies.
Furthermore, the commercial companies that are often at the forefront of innovation in emerging
technologies may be reluctant to partner with DOD due to the complexity of the defense
acquisition process. A Government Accountability Office (GAO) study of this issue found that, of
12 U.S. commercial companies who choose not to do business with DOD, all 12 cited the
complexity of the defense acquisition process as a rationale for their decision.166 DOD has created
a number of avenues for rapid acquisitions—including the Strategic Capabilities Office, the
Defense Innovation Unit, and Project Maven—that are intended to streamline cumbersome
processes and accelerate the acquisitions timeline.167 Project Maven, for example, was established

valley-and-washington/577963/.
161 See Defense Science Board, Applications of Quantum Technologies: Executive Summary; National Security
Commission on Artificial Intelligence, First Quarter Recommendations, March 2020, pp. 21-43, at
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wkPh8Gb5drBrKBg6OhGu5oNaTEERbKss/view; and Amy Zegart and Kevin Childs,
“The Divide between Silicon Valley and Washington.” For example, DOD is establishing a university consortium for
hypersonic research and workforce development, while the Defense Digital Service now offers one- to two-year
assignments for commercial technology workers. Similarly, the National Security Innovation Network seeks to create
models and pathways for recruiting technologists to the U.S. government.
162 Andrew Ilachinski, AI, Robots, and Swarms: Issues, Questions, and Recommended Studies, Center for Naval
Analysis, January 2017, pp. 190-191. For an overview of recent acquisition reform efforts, see CRS Report R45068,
Acquisition Reform in the FY2016-FY2018 National Defense Authorization Acts (NDAAs), by Heidi M. Peters.
163 Andrew Ilachinski, AI, Robots, and Swarms: Issues, Questions, and Recommended Studies, p. 189.
164 Defense Science Board, “Design and Acquisition of Software for Defense Systems,” February 2018, at
https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/1048883.pdf. See also Defense Innovation Board, Software is Never Done:
Refactoring the Acquisition Code for Competitive Advantage, May 3, 2019, at https://media.defense.gov/2019/Apr/30/
2002124828/-1/-1/0/
SOFTWAREISNEVERDONE_REFACTORINGTHEACQUISITIONCODEFORCOMPETITIVEADVANTAGE_FIN
AL.SWAP.REPORT.PDF.
165 Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, “Software Acquisition Pathway Interim
Policy and Procedures,” January 3, 2020, at https://www.acq.osd.mil/ae/assets/docs/USA002825-
19%20Signed%20Memo%20(Software).pdf.
166 U.S. Government Accountability Office, Military Acquisitions, DOD is Taking Step to Address Challenges Faced
by Certain Companies, GAO-17-644, July 20, 2017, p. 9. Other rationales cited include unstable budget environment,
lengthy contracting timeline, government-specific contract terms and conditions, and inexperienced DOD contracting
workforce.
167 In certain circumstances, DOD may also use other transaction authorities (OTAs) to accelerate research,
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in April 2017; by December, the team was fielding a commercially acquired prototype AI system
in combat.168 Although some analysts argue that these are promising developments, critics point
out that the department must replicate such results at scale and implement more comprehensive
acquisitions reform.169
Intellectual Property
Commercial technology companies are often reluctant to partner with DOD due to concerns about
intellectual property and data rights.170 As an official interviewed for a 2017 GAO report on
broader challenges in military acquisitions noted, intellectual property is the “life blood” of
commercial technology companies, yet “DOD is putting increased pressure on companies to grant
unlimited technical data and software rights or government purpose rights rather than limited or
restricted rights.”171 In an effort to manage these concerns, DOD released an instruction that
“establishes policy, assigns responsibilities, and prescribes procedures for the acquisition,
licensing, and management of IP.”172 The instruction additionally establishes a DOD IP Cadre to
advise and assist the acquisition workforce on matters related to IP and calls for the development
of an IP strategy to “identify and manage the full spectrum of IP and related matters” for each
acquisition program.173
Supply Chain Security
A number of recent reports have raised concerns about the security of the U.S. supply chain for
emerging military technologies. For example, one assessment found that China “may have
opportunities to jeopardize the development of hypersonics through industrial espionage,
transfers of technology, or providing unreliable components” due to its potential exposure to low-
level U.S. suppliers.174 Similarly the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence
found that “the United States lacks domestic facilities capable of producing, integrating,
assembling, and testing” the microelectronics needed to enable AI, forcing the U.S. “to rely on
foreign fabrication and complex global supply chains for production.”175

prototyping, and production. For additional information about OTAs, see CRS Report R45521, Department of Defense
Use of Other Transaction Authority: Background, Analysis, and Issues for Congress, by Heidi M. Peters.
168 Marcus Weisgerber, “The Pentagon’s New Artificial Intelligence is Already Hunting Terrorists,” Defense One,
December 21, 2017, at http://www.defenseone.com/technology/2017/12/pentagons-new-artificial-intelligence-already-
hunting-terrorists/144742/.
169 Andrew Ilachinski, AI, Robots, and Swarms: Issues, Questions, and Recommended Studies, Center for Naval
Analysis, January 2017, p. 190.
170 U.S. Government Accountability Office, Military Acquisitions, DOD is Taking Steps to Address Challenges Faced
by Certain Companies.
171 Ibid., p. 20.
172 Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, “DOD Instruction 5010.44 Intellectual
Property (IP) Acquisition and Licensing,” October 16, 2019, at https://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/DD/
issuances/dodi/501044p.PDF?ver=2019-10-16-144448-070.
173 Ibid., pp. 8-11.
174 Govini, The 2020 Federal Scorecard: High-Intensity Warfare Edition, p. 67, at https://www.govini.com/wp-content/
uploads/2020/06/Govini-2020-Federal-Scorecard.pdf.
175 National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence, First Quarter Recommendations, p. 46.
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Technology Protection
Estimates indicate “that American industry loses more than $600 billion dollars [each year] to
theft and expropriation,” including the theft and expropriation of emerging military technologies
and related intellectual property.176 The United States has a number of programs devoted to
addressing this issue. For example, pursuant to the Foreign Investment Risk Review
Modernization Act of 2018 (FIRRMA), the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United
States (CFIUS) now reviews certain foreign investments, including those involving “emerging
and foundational technologies.” In addition, FIRRMA authorized CFIUS to consider “whether a
covered transaction involves a country of special concern that has a demonstrated or declared
strategic goal of acquiring a type of critical technology or critical infrastructure that would affect
United States leadership in areas related to national security.”177 Similarly, DOD’s Protecting
Critical Technology Task Force helps protect universities, labs, and the U.S. defense industrial
base against the theft of “classified information, controlled unclassified information, and key
data.”178 As part of this effort, the task force intends to institute cybersecurity training programs
for small businesses, enhance DOD’s understanding of supply chain vulnerabilities, and develop
a prioritized list of technologies that are critical to national security—as mandated by Section
1049 of the FY2019 NDAA—among other activities.179 Some analysts have recommended
expanding technology protection efforts to include U.S. allies and partners.180
Governance and Regulation
According to then-Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats, “technology developments …
are likely to outpace regulation, which could create international norms that are contrary to US
interests and increase the likelihood of technology surprise.”181 To address this concern, some
analysts have argued that “the United States should undertake broad, sustained diplomatic
engagement to advance collaboration on emerging technologies, norms, and standards setting.”182

176 Office of the Secretary of Defense, “Memorandum on the Establishment of the Protecting Critical Technology Task
Force,” October 24, 2018, at https://insidecybersecurity.com/sites/insidecybersecurity.com/files/documents/2018/nov/
cs2018_0459.pdf.
177 The specific technologies that qualify as “emerging and foundational technologies” are to be identified by an
interagency process led by the Department of Commerce. See P.L. 115-232, Title XVII, §1702(c). For more
information on FIRRMA, see CRS In Focus IF10952, CFIUS Reform Under FIRRMA, by James K. Jackson and
Cathleen D. Cimino-Isaacs. Some entities, including the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence, have
argued that the U.S. government should consider additional measures of technology protection, such as “heavier
scrutiny of the potential end use and end user of specific items.” See National Security Commission on Artificial
Intelligence, Interim Report, November 2019, p. 42, at https://drive.google.com/file/d/
153OrxnuGEjsUvlxWsFYauslwNeCEkvUb/view.
178 Office of the Secretary of Defense, “Memorandum on the Establishment of the Protecting Critical Technology Task
Force.”
179 C. Todd Lopez, “Task Force Curbs Technology Theft to Keep Joint Force Strong,” DOD News, November 26,
2019, at https://www.defense.gov/Explore/News/Article/Article/2027555/task-force-curbs-technology-theft-to-keep-
joint-force-strong/.
180 See, for example, Daniel Kliman, Ben FitzGerald, Kristine Lee, and Joshua Fitt, Forging an Alliance Innovation
Base, Center for a New American Security, March 2020, at https://s3.amazonaws.com/files.cnas.org/documents/
CNAS-Report-Alliance-Innovation-Base-Final.pdf?mtime=20200329174909.
181 Daniel R. Coats, “Statement for the Record: Worldwide Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community,”
delivered before the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services, March 6, 2018.
182 Samuel J. Brannen, Christian S. Haig, Katherine Schmidt, and Kathleen H. Hicks, Twin Pillars: Upholding National
Security and National Innovation in Emerging Technologies Governance, Center for Strategic and International
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Studies, January 2020, at https://csis-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/publication/
200123_Brannen_TwinPillars_WEB_FINAL.pdf?eljUpAKOjVauOujYfnvuSGDK0xvsQGZF.
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Oversight183
As Congress conducts oversight of emerging military technologies, it may be challenged in its
ability to independently evaluate and assess complex, disparate technical disciplines. In 1972,
Congress established the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) to provide expert
“assessments, background papers, technical memoranda, case studies, and workshop
proceedings” that were to inform congressional decisionmaking and legislative activities.184
Congress eliminated funding for OTA in 1995 “amid broader efforts to reduce the size of
government.185 Since then, Congress has continued to debate the need for OTA or a similar
technology assessment organization.186

Author Information

Kelley M. Sayler

Analyst in Advanced Technology and Global
Security

Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan
shared staff to congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and
under the direction of Congress. Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other
than public understanding of information that has been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in
connection with CRS’s institutional role. CRS Reports, as a work of the United States Government, are not
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copy or otherwise use copyrighted material.

183 For a full discussion of issues surrounding congressional oversight of technology, see CRS Report R46327, The
Office of Technology Assessment: History, Authorities, Issues, and Options, by John F. Sargent Jr..
184 Ibid.
185 Ibid.
186 For an overview of OTA/technology assessment-related legislation in the 107th-116th Congresses, see Appendix C in
CRS Report R46327, The Office of Technology Assessment: History, Authorities, Issues, and Options, by John F.
Sargent Jr..
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