What are Near Peer Weapons?

These weapons are one part of what the National Defense Strategy (NDS) of the U.S. refers to as “the central challenge to U.S. prosperity and security” – world powers working toward a more authoritarian model of the world, similar to their own forms of government. According to the NDS, other parts of this near peer nation challenge include influence operations, predatory economics, political subversion of nearby nations, and global technological disruptions. These threats resulted in what the NDS calls “a complex global security environment” that requires significant and accelerated modernization of the U.S. military in response.

How are Near Peer Weapons different from previous threats?

The U.S. military experienced weapons escalation challenges in the past, especially by the Soviet Union from the end of World War II until its collapse in 1991, and nuclear proliferation is still a very real threat. Overcoming the United States’ leadership position in conventional and nuclear weapons at this point, however, would require significant and sustained investment, and it would risk global exposure of that nation’s intentions and capabilities, with limited chance of success.

The situation is very different with new near peer weapons. This new generation of weapons is based on the advancement and proliferation not of guns, bombs, munitions, or even platforms, but on microelectronics and cyber systems. Modern weapons systems and platforms depend on microelectronics to operate, and cyber systems interconnect so many critical infrastructures worldwide – banking, utilities, communications, transportation systems, and more – that hackers could potentially destabilize a nation without firing a shot. In addition, unlike traditional weapons, microelectronics and cyber systems are a major part of today’s commercial productivity and consumer culture worldwide that controlling their development and access means controlling who develops the most advanced systems, including weapons systems. That’s why China, for example, has been investing heavily – the DoD estimates over $150 billion – toward dominating global microelectronics development and manufacturing by 2030. While Russia is not directly responsible for all of the cyberattacks that have infiltrated and threatened U.S. government agencies and corporations, the country has been behind a large percentage of them, and it has significant influence over hackers in nearby satellite countries. While the investments mentioned are considerable, those costs are far less than those required for more conventional weapons. An additional benefit is applying them to non-military uses, helping to amortize the costs.

A campaign to win the Near Peer Weapons battle

In a renewed drive to “pursue urgent change on a significant scale” across all DoD departments and agencies, the National Defense Strategy is focused on modernization for technological dominance and more robust systems with heavy investment in new and expanded warfighting capabilities, including but not limited to:

• Artificial Intelligence (AI)
• Machine Learning (ML)
• Microelectronics
• Block-Resistant Radio & Guidance Systems
• Cyber Resilient Weapons Systems
• Electronic Warfare
• Collaborative Weapons
• Quantum Science
• Autonomous Systems
• Fully-Networked C4ISR Systems
• Missile Defense
• Nuclear Modernization
• Hypersonics
• Directed Energy
• Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)

The DoD has updated its recruiting and hiring efforts which attract a more tech-savvy workforce and invested in its developmental opportunities with new programs, scholarships, and fellowships to enhance in-house engineering, science, and technology expertise in support of national security.

Accelerating Modernization to Defeat Emerging Threats

While developing all-new warfighting systems is vital in the long-term, the complexity involved with new weapons, guidance, communications, and other war-fighting systems creation requires significantly more time and funding than the near peer threat allows. For an effective rapid response, integrating emerging technologies into existing systems increases mission capabilities to meet projected war-fighting requirements, while providing shorter fielding times and smaller funding requirements than new developments.

To ensure that this type of leap-ahead modernization approach works most effectively, the department involved – Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines, Space – chooses in-house staff and defense industry partners with a long, proven history of implementing modernization programs to extend the life of existing systems and platforms. These modernization programs define how to integrate next generation technologies into older platforms in a cost-effective, timely, and successful manner. While implementations vary to fit the technologies and the platforms, they do share certain commonalities, including:

1. Production schedules, industrial base constraints, and previous investment choices are all relevant in the decision to modernize. Improved efficiency of new data processing is now driven by artificial intelligence and machine learning. These applications bridge the gap to tomorrow and enable non-traditional defense contractors to provide value rapidly and affordably.
2. Weapons system modernization requires adhering to DoD modular standards. Open systems architecture standards, including Weapon Open Systems Architecture standards, provide the interface standards to enable technology to be integrated into existing systems.
3. Modular, open architecture technology incorporated into qualified and fielded weapon systems is a fast and affordable way to create near peer weapons – weapons that can counter peer and near peer threats quickly and in quantities that can strengthen existing war-fighting strategies.

Related Topics to Explore

Artificial Intelligence (AI) • Autonomous Systems • Autonomous Weapons Systems • Cooperative Engagements • Dynamically-Reconfigurable Technologies • Electronic Protection Systems • Intelligent Weapons • National Defense Science & Technology Strategy • Near Peer Missile Pivot • Networked Collaborative and Autonomous (NCA) Weapons • Swarm Munitions • USD Research and Engineering (R&E) • USD Acquisitions and Sustainment (A&S)