By Joseph F. Dunford, Frances Townsend & Michael Morell
America and China are racing for technological supremacy, and the margin is razor thin. Today, tech supremacy is increasingly synonymous with artificial intelligence (AI) leadership. And China has an aggressive five-part plan to overcome what advantages America still has in AI. For decades, America’s military edge was unquestioned. That era is over. China is closing the gap fast, and the nations that move decisively now will lock in advantages that compound over time. Those who hesitate will be left behind permanently.
The good news: American innovation — particularly AI— is already delivering results for America’s national security, preventing supply-chain shortfalls, detecting cyberattacks in real time, and optimizing military logistics. Not as experiments, but as operational reality. The question is no longer whether these technologies work. It’s whether America will build the infrastructure and maintain the policies to stay ahead of an adversary running hard to catch us.
Accelerating New Weapons Design and Procurement
As the United States navigates existing and evolving threats, producing advanced munitions at adequate scale will be a prerequisite for success. Traditionally, the path from concept to fielded capability stretched across years, or even decades, as weapon designs moved through prototyping, testing, and federal procurement bureaucracy.
However, AI-assisted design, manufacturing, and supply chain management have compressed these timelines at a speed we have never seen before. For example, California-based company Divergent Technologies utilizes AI-enabled engineering software and robotic assembly to 3D print components and machinery in the automotive and aerospace industries.
Last year Divergent and CoAspire announced that AI-driven manufacturing had taken the Rapidly Adaptable Affordable Cruise Missile (RAACM) from concept to flight-tested hardware in 16 weeks. What once took years can now be done in months – a revolutionary development. A nation that can surge weapons production in weeks rather than years holds a decisive advantage in any conflict, and that advantage will increasingly belong to whoever builds the AI infrastructure to support it.
Autonomous Technologies Bypass Enemy Countermeasures
Autonomous drone technology further proves how AI has crossed from theory to operational reality, and nowhere is that more evident than in Ukraine. By reducing human presence in high-risk combat environments, autonomous vehicles protect servicemember lives while maintaining battlefield effectiveness.
Continue reading at Real Clear Defense.