Artificial Intelligence (Formerly Emerging Technologies) Nov. 1, 2020

Artificial Intelligence and National Security

This paper seeks to examine the implications of artificial intelligence (AI) on U.S. national security organized in concordance with the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence Lines of Effort. While countless emerging technologies will be vital to national security in the years to come, AI is the one that has the potential to tie them all together and change how humankind lives. In the era of Great Power Competition, AI also promises to transform how wars are fought. Furthermore, Russia and China are undeterred by privacy concerns or the ethics of how AI should be employed. Thus, gaining a competitive advantage in AI must be a top priority for national strategy. However, while AI promises numerous benefits, it also presents many risks. U.S. policy must account for lost jobs, data security and privacy issues, and misinformation campaigns that will inevitably result as AI becomes more prevalent. The United States is at a critical juncture in the history of AI development and the consequences of failing to adapt are potentially dire. This paper offers analysis and solutions to augment a comprehensive U.S. AI strategy.

Biotechnology Oct. 30, 2020

Biotechnology

With thousands of people dying each day from the pandemic outbreak of 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19), 2020 brought challenges previously unseen in the world. As the world reacts and tries to overcome this virus, biotechnology will be the industry to take the lead and forge the path forward. It will not be without difficulty though as the United States (US) must surge and mobilize against an unplanned enemy and must wade through ethical issues previously unrealized. In addition, the triple helix – the interaction between academia, industry, and government – must ensure enough resilience and adaptability to respond to unanticipated circumstances and emerging needs.1 Collaboration within the US triple helix is essential to take advantage of opportunities and mitigate threats. Biotechnology, defined by the seminar as “Leveraging technology to understand living processes, organisms, and systems to alter and/or enhance health and performance, prevent and cure illnesses and diseases,”2 is often dual-use in nature with related risks and threats to public health and national security, as we are currently witnessing during the pandemic. In 2020 the possibilities and potential advantages of biotechnology have suddenly become extremely important as the world deals with a pandemic claiming hundreds of thousands of lives. The possibilities allowed with new technologies make biotechnology an exciting and fast-changing area of science.

C4ISR Oct. 16, 2020

Command, Control, Computers, Communications, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C4ISR)

For the second year, the Eisenhower School (ES) for National Security and Resource Strategy offered Command, Control, Computers Communications, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) as an Industry Study (IS). The global pandemic outbreak of the Coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) in March 2020, resulted in all classroom lessons and field studies shifting to a virtual environment on March 12, 2020, as a result of the Department of Defense (DOD) Stop Movement Order and state mandated stay-at-home self-isolation policies. The specific focus for academic year 2019–2020 was Medium Altitude/Long-Endurance and High Altitude/Long-Endurance (MALE/HALE) Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). The 2018 National Defense Strategy (NDS) outlines the U.S. strategy to compete, deter, and win in a complex security environment that is defined by rapid technological changes, new threats, and the impact of an extended armed conflict on readiness. Further, the NDS asserts that "Maintaining the Department's technological advantage will require changes to industry culture, investment sources, and protection across the National Security Innovation Base." In response to the NDS, the DOD has focused its strategy on rebuilding a more lethal force that is ready to contend with near peer adversaries such as China and Russia. In the area of C4ISR, the 2020 DOD budget request includes $56.84 billion, a 6% increase over 2019. The 2020 budget prioritizes maintenance and research and development to improve the current systems and the development of new technologies.

Electromagnetic Warfare (Formerly Electronic Warfare) Oct. 16, 2020

Electronic Warfare

Since the pivot to Great Power Competition in the 2018 National Defense Strategy, both the Department of Defense (DOD) and Congress have increased attention to Electronic Warfare (EW) and the Electromagnetic Spectrum (EMS). The Congressionally mandated National Defense Strategy Commission stated that “the United States is losing its advantages in electronic warfare, hindering the nation’s ability to conduct military operations against capable adversaries.” As a result, every Service Chief announced intent to “modernize” their approach to control and manipulation of the EMS.1 To regain and maintain our competitive edge in the EMS, the DOD must commit to continuing and expanding the EW momentum and move out of its comfort zone with both industry and the warfighter.

Transportation and Logistics (Formerly Global Agility, Transportation) Oct. 15, 2020

Global Agility

This report provides an overview of issues present within the Global Agility (GA) ecosystem and proposes recommendations for improvement. Research was conducted on the Global Agility (GA) ecosystem consisting of seven industries: Rail, Trucking, Air Freight, Ports and Harbors, Deep Water Shipping, Inland Waterways, and Warehousing. Students examined the role of each industry in the movement of goods worldwide along with its impact on the national security of the United States (U.S.). Instructors placed emphasis on how these industries support Joint Force mobilization to deter or defeat a great power competitor. Within the GA ecosystem, there are many shared challenges which, if not addressed, will limit the U.S. from achieving its full economic potential. This leads to the conclusion that to effectively support mobilization, the U.S. Government must develop a national transportation plan that prioritizes strategic resources and optimizes infrastructure across all modes. Without a national strategic plan, research indicates these shared challenges will negatively impact the nation’s ability to flow and sustain the Joint Force and may impair the Nation’s strategic options in times of crisis.

Energy Oct. 15, 2020

Energy

The Eisenhower School (ES) Energy Industry Studies seminar is a practical course integrating real-world perspectives through domestic and international guest lectures, industry visits, policy maker and think-tank expert engagements, and, discussions analyzing the domestic and international policies and market forces affecting the U.S. and global economies, and, national and international security. Specifically, the Energy Industry Studies seminar focuses on the confluence of energy sources, transition, security, diplomacy, geopolitical influence and mobilization and its significance within the United States (U.S.) National Security Strategy (NSS) and the U.S. National Defense Strategy (NDS). Students examine energy sources to include fossil fuels (oil, gas, coal), solar, wind, geothermal, hydropower, nuclear, and tidal, and, explore the energy industrial eco-system to include stakeholders and supply chains (generation, transmission, distribution); energy efficiency and storage; emerging technologies and innovation; financing; markets; and human capital. The seminar prepares our national security practitioners to comprehend and conceptualize the role of energy; the global energy transition (fossil fuels to zero carbon); the impact of an energy transition on national and global security, its influence on the alignment of global economies and strategic geopolitical influence. The seminar culminates with policy recommendations that integrate U.S. instruments of power to further U.S. energy security and dominance and fulfill the NSS and NDS objectives.

Organic Industrial Base Oct. 5, 2020

Organic Industrial Base Industry StudyStudy: Surge Surge Limiting Factors Limiting Factors Report

The organic industrial base is a critical part of our national security apparatus. Its mission is to maintain, repair, and overhaul the military equipment of our Armed Forces, and employs over 80,000 civilian employees across 17 government-owned, government-operated industrial facilities. The organic industrial base (OIB) must be postured to support peacetime requirements but also agile enough to respond to a mobilization, national defense contingency, and other emergency requirements. These requirements are the essence of readiness. As the Department of Defense implements the National Defense Strategy and acquires new aircraft, ships, vehicles, and weapons systems, it cannot ignore the operations and support portion of the acquisition cycle and must plan strategically for the future. If the OIB cannot quickly repair weapons systems as they require maintenance, then we are doing a disservice to our Armed Forces and our nation. It is a national priority to sustain, resource, and ultimately expand the OIB’s capabilities and capacity. This report provides an overview of the OIB’s role as the business enterprise of the Department of Defense (DoD), the OIB’s ability to surge operations for future contingencies, and opportunities to expand capacity through technology, innovation, and strategic partnerships. The report is framed by an achievable concept using adopted business best practices to enhance OIB effectiveness and efficiency but is limited in assessing the OIB’s ability to surge due to fundamental differences between DoD’s measurement of capacity and industry standard output metrics.

Strategic Materials Oct. 4, 2020

Strategic Materials

The Strategic Materials Industry Study seminar focuses exclusively on critical non-fuel minerals and their importance to defense and non-defense industries. During the Academic Year 2020, the team examined how these critical minerals are explored, extracted, refined, and incorporated into an ever-increasing array of high-tech products, including sustainable energy, commercial and defense applications. Moreover, the seminar investigated the supply chain for critical minerals and compared the various policies governments around the world employ to ensure current and future access to scarce resources. During the course of its research, the Strategic Materials Industry Study collaborated with various stakeholders from government, industry, and academia in the National Capital Region, Ohio, Colorado, and California; in doing so the seminar gained a comprehensive understanding of the opportunities and challenges associated with growing and maintaining a healthy industrial base for strategic materials in order to provide for the nation’s economic prosperity and national security.

Cyber (Formerly Information and Communications Technology) Oct. 3, 2020

Cyber Domain and Advanced Computing Industry Study

The Cyber Domain and Advanced Computing Industry Study team completed a comprehensive review of this industry by conducting engagements with over 30 organizations over a four-month period. Following these engagements, extensive classwork, and industry analysis, the study team developed this paper to document its findings and make a set of policy recommendations to strengthen the United States’ position as a leader in the cyber domain and the advanced computing industry. The rate of change in this domain is accelerating, and it is changing virtually every facet of our lives. Advances in quantum computing, neuromorphic chips, and artificial intelligence technologies, to name just a few, may enable a country to develop leap-ahead military systems that would make its adversaries’ systems obsolete in a short time. Will the United States be the leader or be surpassed? The United States retains its edge in many of these fields, but China and other countries are closing the gap. The industry study team analyzed and developed recommendations for over 40 issues, choosing to focus in this paper on the most pressing ones, those likely to manifest as crises with national security and profound economic implications in the next seven to ten years.

Aircraft (Formerly Air Domain) Oct. 2, 2020

Air Domain

The Air Domain is a critical National Security industry driving a broad spectrum of technology development. Air Domain is a technology integrator of capabilities from other industry studies such as munitions, information technology, and electronic warfare. Therefore, the Air Domain drives economic growth across multiple business sectors. Research in the shifting of strategic priorities revealed the Air Domain is not positioned to maintain the U.S. technical superiority. Policymakers should focus on increasing research and development, improving technology protection, and revise restrictive regulations enabling rapid development and fielding.