Pentagon Releases FY 2024 Defense Budget in 'Eventful Spring'
Last week, after a set of secret national security documents suddenly appeared in public, caused a "high degree of panic" in the Pentagon Defense Department senior: officials "stunned" and "enraged ".
The intelligence documents appear to have entered the public domain in an unusual way. According to the Post, about 100 documents poured into a Discord chat room affiliated with a YouTuber named wow_mao. The documents are mostly related to the war in Ukraine (though some involve the Middle East and Africa). When they went viral on Telegram and Twitter last week, they caught the attention of journalists and the U.S. government, thus influencing the broader public. The alleged leaker, Jack Teixeira, a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, was arrested the afternoon of April 13.
Nearly all of the 53 documents in total were written and distributed within the government in February and contained time-sensitive information about battlefield developments in Ukraine. For example, one document lists the number of U.S. and NATO soldiers in Ukraine: the United States has 14 special operations soldiers in Ukraine and a total of 100 military personnel; other articles indicate that the U.S. government is monitoring the private communications of Israeli and South Korean government officials.
Even Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Ukraine has changed some of its military plans because of the leak.
On April 13, Pentagon Press Secretary and Air Force Brigadier General Pat Ryder said publicly in response that "just because classified information may have been posted online or elsewhere does not mean it has been declassified," and that Defense Department officials will continue to review factors in an effort to protect classified material.
This is not the first dispute over defense intelligence to occur in 2023.
Back in February, an ongoing "spy balloon" dispute erupted between the United States and China. At that time, "Forbes" media has pointed out that the new round of international competition, military competition will not be such a simple form, but will be the field of quantum technology battle of science and technology.
Take the example of information security. Last year, the Biden administration and Congress took steps to transition government agencies to new "quantum-resistant" encryption methods - methods that are thought to be unaffected by quantum computers. In contrast, China has developed a network of thousands of miles of fiber-optic cables connecting major cities, passing random quantum keys through photons to ensure secure communications. Because of the nature of quantum mechanics, it is believed that any attempt to monitor such networks would alter the photons and draw the attention of users - China is also the first country to demonstrate quantum key distribution via satellite.
As quantum technology develops further, U.S. national security insiders say China and other hostile nations are collecting encrypted U.S. communications and other sensitive data and storing it until the day when quantum computers are powerful enough to break existing encryption systems.
As a result, the Pentagon has been exploring new ways to use quantum physics to improve defense capabilities for years, whether it's to develop more powerful computers, support global positioning systems, enhance communications security or surveillance means to better detect underwater submarines and underground bunkers.
Broadly speaking, quantum information science (QIS) encompasses the investigation and application of complex phenomena occurring at the atomic and subatomic levels to the processing and transmission of information. Experts mostly predict that this field will enable disruptive and transformative science, engineering and communication applications in the near future.
"Quantum technology is approaching a tipping point that will determine how quickly it can have an impact. If (the U.S.) can keep pace, many important results (for the Department of Defense) can be achieved, including robust positioning, navigation and timing for DoD freedom of action and precision strikes even in the midst of competing spectrum, space or cyber operations."
This policy preference is also evident in the Pentagon's newly released Fiscal Year 2024 Defense Budget in March.
Publicly available information indicates that the DoD office is seeking a $75 million budget for FY 2024 for a new program called Quantum Transition Acceleration.
The Pentagon further notes that quantum computing could lead to "rapid advances in materials and chemistry for advanced energetics, propulsion, and platform coatings; and nascent optimization techniques that enable stealth performance, logistics, and machine learning."
"Quantum technology may also dramatically improve electromagnetic spectrum capabilities," which they say promises to provide the Defense Department with "significant advantages" related to electronic warfare, intelligence gathering and more.
However, the department recognizes the "risk" of slowing technology maturity associated with quantum defense applications for a number of current reasons.
Two challenges and obstacles to implementation are: the maturity of components and supply chains for cutting-edge capabilities in photonics, including lasers, active light manipulation, light delivery and packaging; and inconsistencies between government and industry regarding quantum technology development priorities, maturity timeline realism and technology protection strategies," officials wrote in the budget justification document. "
As a result, the Pentagon seeks to mitigate these major issues through the new Quantum Transition Acceleration program.
Of the $75 million requested for FY 2024, $45 million will be used for "the maturation, demonstration and transition of quantum inertial sensors, gravity sensors, atomic clocks and quantum electromagnetic sensors," with officials noting in the document that these specific technologies will "come from existing projects that have demonstrated from existing projects that have demonstrated performance benefits.
Another $30 million will focus on "identifying, developing and supporting key component technologies for atomic clocks, quantum sensors and quantum computers, and ultimately helping to accelerate the transition of laboratory-scale systems to manufacturable commercial products."
In addition to the $75 million requested in FY 2024 for the Quantum Transition Acceleration Program, the department forecasts that it will request $100 million per year from FY 2025-2028 to continue advancing the program.
It is worth noting that this is not the only quantum program mentioned in the document. For example, Lincoln Laboratory has also announced its own financial layout for quantum information technology this time.
Lincoln Laboratory said its work for the next fiscal year includes demonstrating scalable computing platforms, using highly compact atomic-like defects in diamond for magnetic field sensing, prototyping revolutionary quantum networking systems and technologies, and studying advanced quantum algorithms and their applications.
In response to this released defense pre-proposal, Guha, director of NSF's Center for Quantum Network Engineering Research (CQN), said the development of quantum technologies is critical to maintaining the nation's technological prowess. "While these technologies are at different stages of development, we believe some will have an impact on DoD capabilities and provide the United States with a competitive advantage over its adversaries."
On March 9, 2023, the Biden-Harris Administration submitted its proposed fiscal year (FY) 2024 DoD budget request to Congress: a total of $842 billion, an increase of $26 billion over FY 2023 levels and $100 billion over FY 2022.
In response to this figure, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III also publicly stated, "This is the largest investment in readiness and acquisition the Department has ever made, as well as our largest investment in research and development. the FY 2024 defense budget will help position DoD for this 'defining decade' to best support its people and allies and ensure America is ready to meet the challenges of today, tomorrow and the future."
Reference link:
[1]https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3326875/department-of-defense-releases-the-presidents-fiscal-year-2024-defense-budget/
[2]https://theintercept.com/2023/04/13/pentagon-classified-documents-leak/
[3]https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/3362394/dod-calls-document-leak-a-criminal-act/
[4]https://thequantuminsider.com/2023/04/18/reports-us-secretary-of-defense-wants-75-million-in-2024-to-accelerate-quantum/
[5]https://defensescoop.com/2023/04/12/pentagon-seeks-75m-for-new-program-to-accelerate-quantum-tech-transition/
