Charles Lyons-Burt
Behind every important development in military and defense is an innovative technology selected by a cunning engineer. This has been true for a while, but is especially relevant in the age of electronic and drone warfare, where soldiers are becoming rapidly reliant on technology to assist their efforts or take their place on the battlefield entirely.
We have assembled four of the most important technology trends that are not just making waves in U.S. defense, but actively defining what conflict and protecting national security look like in today’s world.
All five of these technologies will receive close examination at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2025 Defense R&D Summit on Jan. 23, with a panel session devoted to each. This event is the only way to begin your year as a government contractor working in the defense space — you’ll discover new tools and learn what the Department of Defense needs from its partners. Register today!
Robotics and Autonomous Systems
In 2015, the U.S. Army was spending $17 million on robotics, but by 2021, the number reached a reported $379 million. The overall market for defense robotics is projected to total $24.2 billion by next year. This is obviously an extremely fast-growing industry, and it’s because robotics and autonomous systems, or RAS, are able to satisfy a number of pressing needs:
- Situational awareness
- Freedom of maneuver
- Complex terrain navigation
- Explosive ordinance disposal
- Logistics assistance
RAS includes drones, unmanned aerial systems, robotic dogs and more.
Relevant Defense R&D Summit sessions: “Critical Technologies Shaping the Battlefield: The Future of Autonomous Systems in Defense” panel (11:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.); “Fast Forward: Operationalizing Autonomy for Real-Time Readiness” panel (1:00–2:00 p.m.)
Joint All-Domain Technologies
Management consultant company McKinsey analyzed earlier this year that there has been a marked shift this decade away from quelling “asymmetric” threats like terrorism and cybercrime — though of course these still exist — and toward near-peer competition or great power competition. This transition in the Department of Defense’s focuses has meant a turn toward “joint all-domain” systems that boost interconnected, cross-domain functionality. This means implementing:
- Communication networks
- Disaggregated capabilities (or more dispersed, manageably-sized systems rather than one, large, potentially faulty apparatus)
- Cutting edge technologies (McKinsey mentions “AI-powered command-and-control systems”)
The Department of Defense’s Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control initiative, known as CJADC2, is the main effort here, with each component running its own contribution: the Army’s Project Convergence; the Navy’s Project Overmatch; and the Air Force’s Advanced Battle Management System.
Relevant Defense R&D Summit session: “Integrated Battlefield/Systems of Systems/CJADC2/Edge computing” panel (1:00–2:00 p.m.)
5G
Directly correlated and essential to the joint all-domain objective, as stated, is time-sensitive and fast-acting communication capabilities. 5G, still the most advanced form of cellular communication, is the gold standard for “hyper-converged connectivity and secure data networks,” according to StartUs Insights. It’s also related to RAS, because autonomous and unmanned systems need to be remote controlled over a reliable network. 5G is the foundation upon which many crucial military technologies operate.
Relevant Defense R&D Summit session: “Enhancing Battlefield Connectivity: The Role of 5G in Modern Warfare” (11:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.)
AI
Finally, the one you’ve all been waiting for — artificial intelligence is definitely the buzziest and most talked about of all the entries on this list. The news items come in by the day: just last week, the DOD reported its testing on Scylla, a new AI program that is designed to identify threats in contested environments.
Task Force Lima, the DOD’s generative AI unit, is supposed to wrap up based on its initial 12-to-18-month timeline in the next few months. But those in the press and elsewhere are wondering what it’s found and how generative AI and large language models might fit into the Pentagon’s strategies and processes going forward.
The Transition Tracking Group, which “looks to improve the department’s ability to track transitions from the initial stages of research and development to fielded capabilities in the hands of warfighters,” is utilizing AI to speed up its activities.
AI is known to be able to maximize efficiency, cut out routine tasks from human workloads and to sort through large datasets. But the DOD is at least nominally concerned with its ethical usage: a Responsible AI conference was just held in Virginia to try and get at how to integrate it respectfully and with moral consideration.
Relevant Defense R&D Summit session: “R&D Priorities to Deliver Trusted AI-enabled Systems for Combatant Command Missions” panel (9:50–10:50 a.m.)
Explore these topics and more (such as quantum and space domain awareness technologies) at the Potomac Officers Club’s seminal 2025 Defense R&D Summit!
