In a major strategic pivot, the DoD has scaled back its sprawling list of research-and-development priorities — trimming what used to be 14 critical technology areas down to just six. Emil Michael, the department’s Undersecretary for Research & Engineering and Chief Technology Officer, announced the change on November 17, 2025. According to Michael, the earlier broad catalog “diluted focus” and hampered timely delivery of tools war fighters need.

“Fourteen priorities, in truth, means no priorities at all,” he said, underscoring the need for sharper concentration on what really matters.

The newly defined “Critical Technology Areas” (CTAs) reflect what the DoD sees as the most urgent capabilities to develop — those that can offer “the greatest impact, the fastest results and the most decisive advantage on the battlefield.”

Future military dominance will belong to those who can move technology from the lab to the battlefield with speed, precision, and purpose.

The Six Priorities

1. Applied Artificial Intelligence (AAI) — Envisioned as a force multiplier across administrative, intelligence, and combat-decision domains. The goal: embed AI deeply into command-and-control, situational awareness, and operational workflows for faster, smarter decision-making.
2. Bio manufacturing (BIO) — Leveraging biology to produce critical materials, potentially replacing vulnerable supply chains and enabling on-demand manufacturing of essential resources in austere conditions.
3. Contested Logistics Technologies (LOG) — Developing systems that ensure resilient supply, resupply, and sustainment for forces operating in denied, disrupted or contested areas.
4. Quantum and Battlefield Information Dominance (Q-BID) — A combined focus on quantum computing and next-gen communication/sensing to secure battlefield information superiority — even in degraded or electronically contested environments.
5. Scaled Directed Energy (SCADE) — Ramping up R&D on high-power lasers, microwave weapons and related directed-energy systems to produce cost-effective, precision capabilities for air defence, point defence, and counter-drone scenarios.
6. Scaled Hypersonics (SHY) — Accelerating development of high-speed, Mach 5+ weapons that can be fielded at scale, significantly increasing strike capabilities against time-sensitive targets.

Why the Shift Matters

• From breadth to depth: The previous 14-item list included many emerging and enabling technologies — but stretching across so many domains diluted urgency. The trimmed list signals a prioritization of technologies judged most likely to yield actionable results in the near term.
• Faster delivery cycles: Under the new structure, the DoD aims to push many initiatives through “sprints” — with deployment-ready capabilities targeted for 12–36 months, rather than distant future timelines.
• Realistic consolidation: Some technologies removed from the top-list are not abandoned — many will be folded under the six broad categories. For instance, elements like microelectronics, integrated networks or software may now fall under AAI; others such as space-based sensing or advanced communications may be absorbed into Q-BID.

What This Means for Defense Industry & Innovation

For contractors, researchers and allied industries, this refocusing likely means:

• Greater competition for funding — only projects aligned with the six CTAs may get top priority.
• A sharper incentive to deliver working prototypes and near-term impact rather than speculative long-term research.
• Faster adoption cycles — successful projects may be fielded more rapidly, compressing timelines from concept to deployment.
• A possible reprioritization of existing R&D work — some efforts may be restructured under the new categories, merged, or phased out.

As global threats evolve rapidly, this restructuring reflects the DoD’s growing emphasis on speed, agility, and battlefield relevance. By backing fewer — but more impactful — technology bets, the Pentagon aims to stay ahead in a high-stakes race for future warfighting superiority.