Innovations & technologies

Winning the national security long game takes technology innovation

I was recently at a meeting with a former senior colleague who bemoaned the growing number of security threats facing the United States and the West in 2018. He said, “It feels as if the West is on a losing streak to the forces of chaos, and if this were a soccer match, the coach would need to adjust our game plan for the second half.” He cited North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs, the growing threat of war on the Korean Peninsula, international terrorism, and the challenges posed by major peer states such as China and Russia.

My friend’s litany of national security woes is familiar to most security experts, but it does gloss over several positive trends and inherent advantages that the United States still enjoys. For example, the U.S. economy is booming, and we continue to enjoy significant advantages in our military and intelligence capabilities compared to our nearest competitors. It’s not as if our primary enemies and competitors are without their own challenges, from the Islamic State’s loss of its physical caliphate to Russia’s lagging economic growth, and from China’s enormous debt burden to Iran’s recent spate of internal protests.

But what about our longer-term security picture, say over the next five to 10 years? Are we likely to enjoy the same advantages if we stay on our current trajectory, or is there an emerging issue that policymakers will need to address soon to safeguard America’s longer-term security? I believe the answer to the latter question is yes, and it’s the steady erosion of our technological preeminence, particularly in areas with defense and weapons development applications.