China urged to copy Pentagon’s hi-tech warfare project without US conflicts of interest
China has been urged to learn from a Pentagon project to assess future warfare but warned to avoid the potential conflicts of interest and other shortcomings of the US defence review. Project Meridian, launched late last month, is designed to identify future battlefield requirements and prioritise investment, with a focus on areas such as artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, directed…
A Chinese think tank has advised the country to draw lessons from a Pentagon project aimed at assessing future warfare requirements, while cautioning against the potential conflicts of interest and shortcomings of the US defense review. The Beijing-based Blue Army Open-Source Intelligence Research Institute reviewed the Pentagon's Project Meridian, launched recently, which focuses on domains such as artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, directed energy, robotics, and biotechnology.
Project Meridian, spearheaded by Pentagon Chief Technology Officer Emil Michael and Mitre Corporation, reflects the US interest in adapting to rapid commercial technological advancements and addressing challenges in coordinating military requirements, funding, and procurement. The report highlighted the project's strengths, including a cross-sector team of analysts, rapid 120-day assessment cycle, and emphasis on areas like space and cyber warfare.
China should adopt an integrated approach to assessing defense technologies, the report suggested, moving beyond isolated evaluations of weapons systems or military services. It emphasized the need to identify gaps in joint operations, including data sharing, communications links, system compatibility, and logistical support. The think tank proposed a two-tier assessment mechanism, combining continuous monitoring of global technological developments with time-limited reviews of specific capability gaps.
This should bring together military personnel, research institutes, defense contractors, universities, and civilian technology companies to enhance decision-making quality and speed.
The report also highlighted the importance of establishing a clear pathway from technological assessment to operational deployment, specifying operational requirements, existing capability gaps, technology maturity, implementation organizations, testing conditions, and funding requirements. However, it cautioned that the involvement of business leaders with existing defense contracts in the Pentagon review could lead to conflicts of interest.
The 120-day timetable for completing the report was also deemed insufficient for effective outcomes.
The report advised that any comparable Chinese study should incorporate independent reviews and mandatory conflict of interest disclosures. Companies should refrain from evaluating their own products or influencing procurement decisions. The Blue Army Open-Source Intelligence Research Institute urged China to selectively adopt Project Meridian's strengths while addressing its shortcomings, such as insufficient validation, a broad scope, and conflicts of interest, to build a defense technology assessment system driven by clearly defined requirements, backed by robust evidence, subject to independent evaluation, linked to a comprehensive implementation process, and equipped with effective risk controls.
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