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Emerging Weapons Technologies to Reshape Battlefields Over Next 30 Years

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Over the next three decades, several new weapons technologies will emerge on the battlefield. Beyond currently developing non-lethal and energy weapons, multiple nations are pursuing anti-access/area denial (A2AD) systems to block military operations. A2AD technologies include anti-ship ballistic missiles, precision-guided anti-vehicle and anti-personnel weapons, counter-rocket, artillery, and mortar (CRAM) systems, anti-satellite weapons, and electromagnetic pulse (EMP) devices.

Some technologies, like precision-guided weapons, represent breakthroughs based on existing science. China, for instance, is developing advanced anti-ship ballistic missiles capable of destroying aircraft carriers. Others are entirely novel concepts, such as the EXACTO self-steering bullet developed by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in 2015. As China, Russia, the U.S., and other nations invest heavily in military modernization, a new era of high-tech arms competition is unfolding.