Biotech dominance is key to military superiority

//DH

Advancing biotechnology is a stated goal of the U.S. Department of Defense as it provides opportunities for new methods of producing products in the military supply chain, as well as for creating new or improved products with enhanced capabilities. Biological systems can be used for biomanufacturing of products in the defense supply chain, for example in the critical chemicals that the Department of Defense uses to make lubricants, fuels, or energetics, on which it now relies on foreign or sole sources. Biological systems can also produce novel products, such as materials that trap and prevent toxic chemicals from affecting soldiers. Biomanufacturing on-demand could enable logistics in contested environments, for example through engineered microbes that can transform waste streams like plastics into critical supply chain components like fuels. Biotechnology can be used to generate novel materials, for example fabric resembling spider silk could make lighter, stronger, and more flexible body armor, allowing warfighters to operate under reduced physical strain. Biological sensors could

recognize a chemical or biological agent in real time and engineered human enzymes could deactivate nerve agents in the body.

However, biotechnology can also be applied for military usage in ways that run counter to the policies and goals of the United States, for example to produce a biological weapon. Additional potential future military capabilities enabled by biotechnology include augmented solider performance, brain-computer interfaces, as well as advanced biological weapons.

As the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission has previously noted, China is prioritizing advancement in critical and emerging technologies because these technologies could lead to substantial scientific breakthroughs, economic disruption, enduring economic benefits, and rapid changes in military capabilities and tactics. Under the national policy of “military-civil fusion,” Chinese officials state that information and technology that are obtained in civilian sectors will be used to benefit the military and military applications. China’s pursuit of biotechnology could enable a range of military capabilities.