{"id":16478,"date":"2018-05-10T15:06:20","date_gmt":"2018-05-10T15:06:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2018\/05\/10\/what-to-expect-from-ai-space-and-other-tech-areas-over-the-next-18-months\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T17:47:19","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T17:47:19","slug":"what-to-expect-from-ai-space-and-other-tech-areas-over-the-next-18-months","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/space\/2018\/05\/10\/what-to-expect-from-ai-space-and-other-tech-areas-over-the-next-18-months\/","title":{"rendered":"What to expect from AI, space and other tech over the next 18 months"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What will the next 18 months mean for the Pentagon\u2019s ongoing challenge to maintain a technological edge over its enemies?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That was the question posed to a panel of experts at the 17th annual C4ISRNET conference Thursday. And the answers underline just how wide the technical areas of expertise are that Pentagon officials need to get their heads around in the modern era \u2014 and how the situation will remain fluid going forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Richard Linderman, deputy director for research and engineering in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense, the focus is on manufacturing the vital microelectronics that provide the base for all of America\u2019s high-end technologies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Click here for more coverage from the C4ISRNET conference<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

He predicts a push to create those chips at a higher rate domestically, which in turn would allow greater trust that the chips, forming the basis of communications equipment or artificial intelligence, would not be messed with by a foreign entity. Concern about the domestic production of microelectronics is expected to be part<\/a> of a large defense industrial base review now underway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re right out on the pointy end of the spear, you might not want chips made in China to be the foundation of your communications gear,\u201d Linderman told the audience. \u201cSo I think you\u2019re going to see those kinds of investments increase dramatically, and it will be an exciting prospect for us to bring new dimensions to this discussion of trusted, assured microelectronics.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

James Hasik, a professor at the National Defense University, said he would be keeping a close eye on how the autonomous Sea Hunter vehicle does during ongoing testing. DARPA recently transferred the Sea Hunter<\/a>, designed to travel thousands of miles over open seas, for months at a time, without a crew member on board, over to the Navy for continued testing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe economics of that concept are so compelling,\u201d Lungu said. If the concept proves out, it could have \u201csome profound applications for fleet structure, some profound applications for warfighting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clark Groves, a space expert also at NDU, predicted that the long-awaited boom in small satellites will finally reach critical mass in the near-future, driven by the desire to move the massive telecommunications market onto cheaper systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DoD stands to benefit, as this would be happening at the same time the Pentagon seeks to move from relying on massive, expensive aggregated systems towards a disaggregated model relying on multiple cheap, smaller systems \u2014 which present more of a challenge for any enemy nation that may seek to take out American assets in space. <\/p>\n\n\n\t