OPINION:
It’s no secret that China under President Xi Jinping is pursuing a foreign policy that, left unchecked, will potentially have it surpassing the United States as the world’s preeminent superpower.
Over the past 70-plus years of the bilateral relationship, tensions have existed, but in recent history, they have become more pronounced. A unity of purpose and effort is now required across our national security enterprise, from the White House to Congress to the industrial base, enabled by academics and policy advisers, entrepreneurs and innovators.
Mr. Xi’s intentions are evident, having secured his third term last October. Witness the increased Chinese maritime and air intercepts of U.S. and Indo-Pacific countries in the region as well as incursions into Taiwan’s maritime and air space; use of economic coercion regionally and globally while seeking to control the technologies of great economic and military value; the recent spy balloon incident and reports that China is considering giving arms and more aid to Russia for the war in Ukraine.
And let’s not overlook that China has surpassed the U.S. in the number of land-based nuclear missile launchers and is aggressively developing a legitimate nuclear triad, as stated by Air Force Gen. Anthony Cotton, commander of the U.S. Strategic Command, in a letter to the Senate and House armed services committees.
Given all of this, it is imperative that the United States and its allies remain focused on military modernization and the next generation of technological advancements. The key will be sustaining this effort from administration to administration and from Congress to Congress, as well as bringing innovators to the forefront of our technology advancement endeavors. Harnessing our national ingenuity takes leadership focus, resourcing, and effective processes. This should be our top priority.
Of the endeavors and next steps necessary to maintain our competitive edge over China’s technological growth, four core technologies will be critical: artificial intelligence, autonomous capabilities, directed energy and batteries.
AI is a game-changer for faster and more accurate decision-making and action, with greater precision and lethality when coupled with sensors and weapons. The military that can master the use of AI will dominate the battlefield and national decision-making.
With the Department of Defense’s recent update of its “Autonomy in Weapons Systems” Directive, military application of autonomous capabilities continues as a key technological effort. Coupled with AI, autonomous systems will drastically alter future war-fighting doctrine through the augmentation of manned systems, providing persistent capabilities and ideally reducing the human cost of war.
As the fighting in Ukraine has shown us, the pervasive and effective use of unmanned aerial systems, long-range missiles and artillery, and anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles have altered the geometry of the future battlefield. Unlimited countermeasures, such as directed energy, or DE, are needed. The Department of Defense is signaling just that, going as far as to say that every Army vehicle or the Air Force’s sixth-generation fighter will have some type of DE capability.
The key to all of this is power, and the key to power in a future combat zone like the Pacific is batteries. Batteries that can replace fuel and reduce the logistical tail are critical to the future fight. A tank fully powered by batteries is not too far off in the future.
It seems that a rallying of sorts may be in the works.
The pending fiscal 2024 defense budget request reported to be some $842 billion for DoD alone and $70 billion over last year’s request, less what Congress will add, may keep us on track with the past years enacted.
Rep. Mike Gallagher’s bipartisan House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the U.S. and the Chinese Communist Party shows great promise in triggering a broader governmental approach to addressing China’s rise.
And this rallying is not solely a governmental effort. Eric Schmidt’s bipartisan, nonprofit Special Competitive Strategic Project, started in October 2021, is dissecting the China problem set with a heavy tilt toward the impact of technology and innovation on U.S. national security in the hopes of influencing future policy and programmatics.
Maintaining and furthering a technological edge over China has never been more critical to maintaining our values and security. Continued investments are crucial to keeping our country safe. Our leaders must continue to focus on tech innovation to maintain a competitive edge over China. We have an incredible opportunity to innovate and modernize our military, a wise investment to ensure our way of life is preserved for future generations.
• Erik Berdy is a principal at Michael Best DC, overseeing its Defense & National Security Practice. In his three-decade career in the Army, he served as the principal adviser to the chairman and Joint Chiefs of Staff on congressional matters as well as director for strategy, plans and policy to the Joint Chiefs, advising on military strategies to combat violent extremists in the Middle East. The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own.
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