The Pentagon's top science official has laid out a striking vision for how emerging technologies will reshape military conflict, pointing to artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and radically new methods of manufacturing as the pillars of future warfare.
According to Defense One, Joseph Jewell — the Pentagon's science chief — described a future where novel production techniques could enable soldiers to fabricate military-grade materials from unconventional sources. The outlet highlighted the example of shaped charges — directed explosive devices — potentially being made from coffee grounds, underscoring how dramatically supply chains and battlefield logistics could change.
Jewell's remarks reflect a broader push inside the Defense Department to move beyond traditional industrial-era thinking about weapons and logistics. Rather than relying solely on large, centralized manufacturing and long supply chains, the vision involves more adaptive, distributed, and biologically-informed production capabilities.
Artificial intelligence figures prominently in this picture — not just for autonomous weapons or surveillance, but as a connective layer that could accelerate decision-making and enable smarter use of novel materials and biological tools. Biotechnology, meanwhile, represents a frontier that defense planners are increasingly treating as a strategic domain alongside software and hardware.
Why it matters: if the Pentagon successfully integrates AI, biotech, and improvised manufacturing into military doctrine, it could fundamentally upend assumptions about what armies need, how they're supplied, and what kinds of nations or non-state actors can field effective fighting forces.