The Joint Force in a Contested and Disordered World

as weather, economics and finance. Additionally, quantum cryptography will lead to new
encryption and decryption techniques, which may significantly enhance communications in
electromagnetically cluttered or denied environments.
By 2035, people will continue to willingly add significant amounts of their own personal data to
public networks, including full-motion video. However, the way information is transmitted,
protected – or made vulnerable – will change dramatically. Adversaries will have improved
mapping and observation capabilities beyond their borders, and they may have the ability to better
understand the basing, disposition, and capabilities of U.S. forces. Biometric identification
(perhaps at range) may strip away the anonymity that enables insurgents to blend into a society –
or will allow future adversaries to identify, track, isolate, and target individual U.S. political or
military leaders. Meanwhile, new data interrogation techniques will enable better understanding
of patterns and permit large-scale inferences about the behaviors of societies by analyzing
geographic data, purchasing and financial information, and other relevant information.
Emergence of New High-End, Capital Intensive Capabilities
Although cheap, pervasive, and proliferated capabilities such as personal information technologies
or small autonomous aerial vehicles attract a great deal of attention, a number of expensive,
investment-heavy technologies will emerge by 2035 that may provide significant military
advantages. Many of these advanced and highly capable technologies will only be accessible to
states with significant financial and scientific resources as well as extensive industrial and
manufacturing infrastructure. Thus, the fascination with small and cheap must be balanced against
an appreciation for capital-intensive weapons and industrial technologies with the potential to
dramatically alter the strategic landscape.
High-end, capital-intensive military capabilities are likely to result from several important trends:
Deployment of >100 KW electrical lasers. Electrical laser systems will become smaller,
lighter, and cheaper, and the introduction of femto- and pico-second pulses will lead to novel
sensors and effects. Ultra-precise, multiple shot, weaponized lasers will easily achieve >100
KW, permitting stealthy engagements at longer ranges with less dwell time required to achieve
effects.
Breakthrough energy. Many energy development efforts focus on making current systems
and processes more efficient, often producing significant but incremental improvements.
However, research into groundbreaking technologies has the potential to radically impact the
future of energy. Innovative fusion, solar, and biofuel technologies might lead to the
development of highly mobile, lighter weight, and more efficient power sources.
Hypersonics. It is probable that one or more states will field an operational hypersonic weapon
system within the next two decades. Likely to achieve speeds in excess of one mile per second
on non-ballistic flight paths, functional hypersonic systems will improve the range, accuracy,
and lethality of offensive global strike capabilities and have the potential to disrupt portions
of anti-access / area denial capabilities as well as missile defense systems.
New high-end military technologies will likely have the largest and most immediate impact in the
air and space domains. As the deliverable power of laser systems continues to increase, they will
become extremely useful in denying the air domain to fragile, readily detectable conventional
platforms as well as guided and unguided munitions of all types unless effective countermeasure
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