White House Strategy Elevates Undersea, Space, and AI to Top Tier of Military Tech Priorities

The White House this week released a 24-page National Security Science and Technology Strategy that names undersea superiority, outer space, and artificial intelligence as the three top priorities for U.S. battlefield dominance and power projection. The document sets out a four-tiered scheme for military technology and endorses a mix of low-cost, attritable systems alongside traditional high-cost programs.

The strategy attributes its three top priorities to last year's National Security Strategy, a broader and less technology-focused document. While the 2025 National Security Strategy mentioned all three areas, it did so alongside other technologies such as nuclear energy and without the clear prioritization laid out in the new strategy. The release came the same week the administration requested a record $71 billion for the Space Force.

The strategy places three priority areas at the top of its pyramid. Undersea superiority covers both submarines and anti-submarine warfare. Space is defined as the ability not just to detect threats but to counter them, from low orbit to the Moon. AI and autonomy is described as a rapidly evolving area, though the strategy does not define it as clearly as the other two. A notable nuance appears in the language: the strategy calls for clear technological superiority in both outer space and undersea, but only competitive advantage in AI and autonomy.

On acquisition, the strategy takes a balanced approach. It endorses high-speed, low-cost innovations the Pentagon is pursuing, especially expendable drones, while emphasizing the continued importance of high-cost, exquisite mega-programs even when the threat they counter is relatively cheap. The strategy states it will seek optimal combinations of lower-cost, sometimes lower-tech or attritable platforms deployed in larger numbers that complement more limited numbers of sophisticated platforms. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has publicly embraced AI, with the exception of Anthropic.

Below the top tier, the strategy names three other critical areas: airpower, underwritten by stealth, electronic warfare, and anti-air defense; long-range strike, meaning the ability to penetrate an enemy defense-in-depth with speed and precision; and C5ISR, covering command, control, communications, computers, cyber, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance. The base of the pyramid is a list of key enabling technologies including advanced manufacturing, hypersonics, nuclear energy, and semiconductors. The main body lists a dozen, while an appendix updating the Office of Science and Technology Policy list of Critical and Emerging Technologies runs three pages.

A separate section on building technological resilience addresses potential gamechangers. The strategy states the United States will build long-term technology resilience by leading in potentially transformative emerging technologies where the national security implications and timelines remain uncertain. Named in this category are biotechnology, particularly to enhance human performance and counter hostile bio-weapons; quantum technology, including computers, sensors, and communications; and Artificial General Intelligence.

The strategy represents the clearest public signal yet of where Pentagon research and development dollars are heading, with space sitting at the top of the list alongside AI. The explicit naming of outer space as a top-tier priority lands the same week the administration requested a record $71 billion for the Space Force.

Watch for how quickly Congress funds or fights the $71 billion Space Force request, a vote that will indicate whether this strategy carries weight or remains on paper.