The Pentagon is aggressively restructuring its science and technology apparatus around artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, and low-cost weapons, as senior US Department of Defense officials warned lawmakers on 15 May that future battlefields will be defined by speed, data dominance, and the mass deployment of affordable combat systems. The warning came at a House Armed Services subcommittee hearing on science, technology, and innovation posture.

Narrowing Focus to Six Critical Technologies

Emil Michael, Under Secretary of Defence for Research and Engineering, told lawmakers that the Pentagon had cut its list of 'critical technology areas' from 14 to six, sharpening focus on what he described as the technologies most likely to define future conflicts. Those six areas are: applied artificial intelligence, contested logistics technologies, quantum systems, battlefield information dominance, directed energy, and scaled hypersonics.

Michael also said the Pentagon was moving away from a fragmented innovation model. 'We're moving from a fragmented, siloed innovation ecosystem to a single, unified model designed to transition technology from the lab to the warfighter,' he said.

AI Already on the Battlefield

Cameron Stanley, Chief Data and Artificial Intelligence Officer at the Pentagon, told the subcommittee that AI-enabled systems had already seen extensive operational deployment during 'Operation Epic Fury', helping US forces strike 'more than 13,000 targets in 38 days.' 'What once took days now takes seconds,' Stanley said.

Stanley pointed to the Maven Smart System — an AI-enabled command-and-control platform — as a live example of battlefield AI already operating across combatant commands and operational theatres. He also warned that China was investing 'upwards of $300 billion in energy and compute infrastructure to develop sovereign AI', framing the global competition over AI infrastructure as an emerging arms race.

Drones, Cost Exchange, and the Ukraine Lesson

Lawmakers from both parties repeatedly referenced the Ukraine war as a proving ground for drones, electronic warfare, and autonomous systems. Owen West, Director of the Defense Innovation Unit, said the Pentagon was deliberately shifting away from expensive 'exquisite' weapons towards a mix that included cheaper, mass-produced systems.

'While we are winning every engagement, we are losing on the cost exchange,' West said. His Pentagon's new 'Drone Dominance' initiative is designed to accelerate deployment of low-cost autonomous systems using commercial technology and venture-backed start-ups. According to West, 23 of the 25 finalists in the programme were new entrants or start-ups.

Michael added that the Pentagon had recently signed contracts with five new companies to build low-cost munitions using fixed-price arrangements — a deliberate departure from traditional cost-plus contracts that have historically inflated procurement costs.

Oversight Concerns and Human Control

Several lawmakers raised concerns about autonomous weapons oversight and civilian harm mitigation as AI systems become more integrated into military targeting operations. Pentagon officials insisted that human decision-making remained central to the use of force, though they did not detail specific safeguards at the hearing.

The Bigger Picture: Indo-Pacific Competition

The hearing reflects growing bipartisan concern in Washington that the US risks losing its technological edge as China rapidly expands investments in AI, autonomous weapons, and military-industrial capacity. US defence planners increasingly view AI, drones, cyber warfare, and autonomous systems as decisive technologies for future conflicts — particularly in the Indo-Pacific — drawing on battlefield lessons from Ukraine and the Middle East. The Pentagon's restructuring signals that the era of slow-cycle, high-cost defence procurement is under direct challenge.