National Defense 

Science & Technology 

Strategy2023

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
NATIONAL DEFENSE SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY 2023 1 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

2023 National Defense Science and 

Technology Strategy

SHARPENING OUR COMPETITIVE EDGE

— 2022 National Defense Strategy

“Building the future Joint Force that we need to advance the 

goals of this strategy requires broad and deep change in how 

we produce and manage military capability. U.S. competitors 

increasingly hold at risk our defense ecosystem – the 

Department, the defense industrial base, and the landscape 

of private sector and academic enterprises that innovate and 

support the systems on which the Joint Force depends.”

Introduction

As the 2022 National Security Strategy and National Defense Strategy (NDS) make clear, the United States is in the midst of 

a decisive decade where the terms of geopolitical competition between the world’s major powers will be set. The Department 

of Defense (DoD) will advance its priorities in three interlocking ways – through integrated deterrence, campaigning, and by 

building enduring advantages. Accelerated technology advancement and innovation are key elements to achieving DoD priorities 

through these strategic ways, and to ensure our national security over the long term. U.S. and allied leadership in technology 

and innovation has long been part of our military advantage. We must take steps to preserve our leadership and counter our 

competitors who have taken direct aim at this advantage. To respond to this challenge, the NDS calls for “broad and deep 

change in how we produce and manage military capability...to construct an enduring foundation for our military advantage.”

In accordance with the NDS, our defense science 

and technology enterprise must “leverage asymmetric 

American advantages: our entrepreneurial spirit and our 

diversity and pluralistic system of ideas and technology 

generation that drive unparalleled creativity, innovation, 

and adaptation.” Through these asymmetric advantages 

we will create, analyze, test, acquire, and protect the 

knowledge and tools needed to meet the three strategic 

ways of the NDS.

In this Science and Technology Strategy, we establish the ways to sharpen our competitive edge. We will focus on the Joint 

Mission, create and field capabilities at speed and scale, and ensure the foundations for research and development. 

 

The Defense Science and Technology Challenge

In the past, the Department’s leadership in science and technology provided the United States and our allies and partners 

with unmatched capabilities. However, advanced science and technology are now available worldwide. Infused with private 

investment, companies around the world conduct research and development with dual-use commercial and defense applications. 

These changes in commercial markets have altered the dynamics for who creates cutting-edge knowledge and tools for the 

military and how countries access them. The DoD must be more proactive with its engagements with the private sector to 

make the right investments to capitalize on emerging technologies, as well as to preempt adversary attempts to do the same by 

protecting critical and emerging technologies early in the development cycle.

We must also solve increasingly complex security challenges that involve science and technology. These challenges range from 

countering cyber-attacks to securing our supply chains, from defending against advanced offensive technologies, to addressing 
2 NATIONAL DEFENSE SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY 2023 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

biological threats. Responding to these complex challenges requires the DoD to not only strengthen its connections to our 

nation’s strong foundation in science and technology, but to also change its internal processes to identify technologies and see 

them progress through acquisition into fielded capabilities. As highlighted by the NDS, the DoD needs to “overhaul its approach 

to force development, design, and business management practices,” by transitioning to an approach that “incentivize(s) the 

design of open systems that can rapidly incorporate cutting-edge technologies,” and “rewards rapid experimentation, acquisition, 

and fielding.” 

Our competitive edge in defense science and technology is built on our global leadership in these fields. This competitive 

edge is derived from our nation’s values, our relentless exploration of the endless frontier of scientific knowledge, our ingenious 

invention of new technologies, and our industrial application of science and technology to strengthen national security while 

promoting peace and prosperity. 

We will make the necessary adjustments to our internal processes, our engagement with the technological innovation base, 

and our industrial posture to address the emerging dynamics of this era of strategic competition. Our strategy aligns new 

mechanisms for supporting research and development with more effective pathways for acquisition and sustainment. At the 

same time, we will divest from outdated legacy systems and leave behind risk-averse processes. Making these changes will 

require the enterprise working together to execute on three strategic lines of effort: 

I. Focus on the Joint Mission: Invest in information systems and establish processes for rigorous, threat informed 

analysis that will better enable the Department to make informed choices in its science and technology investments.

II.	 Create and field capabilities at speed and scale: Foster a more vibrant defense innovation ecosystem, 

accelerate the transition of new technology into the field, and communicate effectively inside and outside 

the Department.

III.	 Ensure the foundations for research and development: Recruit, retain, and cultivate talent; revitalize our 

physical infrastructure; upgrade our digital infrastructure; and nurture stronger collaboration across all stakeholders.

In every line of effort, we will follow these guiding principles: 

The Purpose of Defense Science and Technology is to Enhance National Security and Influence. While related to broader 

work on science and technology, defense science and technology builds enduring military advantages in direct support of 

national security. Our research and development will always support this core purpose. 

A Joint Mission is a Collaborative Mission. Any future fight will be a joint fight. The defense science and technology 

enterprise must collaborate with Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) Components, the Joint Staff, the Combatant 

Commands, the Defense Agencies, and the Military Services to accelerate development of joint warfighting capabilities that 

address the key challenges described in the NDS. The Chief Technology Officer of the Department of Defense is uniquely 

positioned to draw together communities across the Department to focus on research and engineering challenges. 

International Allies and Industry Partners are Integral to American Research and Development. We will expand 

opportunities to co-research and co-develop with our allies and partners. We will also leverage our broad innovation ecosystem 

across academia, Federally-funded research and development centers (FFRDCs), university affiliated research centers 

(UARCs), DoD laboratories, national laboratories, non-profit entities, commercial industry, and other Government departments 

and agencies. 
NATIONAL DEFENSE SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY 2023 3 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

CRITICAL TECHNOLOGY AREAS

FutureG

Advanced Materials

Trusted AI & Autonomy

Directed Energy

Hypersonics

Integrated Sensing & Cyber

Human Machine Interfaces

Renewable Energy Generation & Storage

Advanced Computing & Software

Integrated Network Systems-of-Systems

Microelectronics

Space Technology

Quantum Science

Biotechnology

Effective Technology Protection is Tailored to Support Military Innovation. 

Technology protection is vital to achieving an enduring advantage. While we must 

accept some degree of risk to catalyze innovation, we must also protect sensitive 

technologies and military programs from theft, diversion, and exploitation by our 

strategic competitors. We will build our technological edge using carefully targeted 

controls and by working closely with our allies and partners to jointly and effectively 

protect our collective research, development, and innovation efforts, including 

warfighting concepts and capabilities during joint experimentation. 

I. Focus on the Joint Mission

The NDS requires us to “make the right technology investments.” That means 

making carefully crafted decisions that bolster our comparative advantages 

rather than engaging in wasteful technology races. Whenever possible, we 

will place emphasis on developing asymmetric capabilities for the Joint Force. 

To achieve the objectives of the NDS we must leverage critical 

emerging technologies. 

The Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering’s Technology 

Vision for an Era of Competition and the Department’s Critical Programs and 

Technologies List identify critical technologies to guide and protect investments 

for the Joint Force. In 2022 the Department designated these Critical 

Technology Areas to address the key national security challenges the nation 

faces, including the Department’s pacing challenge, the People’s Republic of 

China. These Technology Areas are grouped in three categories that represent 

the broad approaches required to advance technologies crucial to the 

Department: (1) seed areas of emerging opportunity, including biotechnology, 

quantum science, future-generation wireless, and advanced materials; (2) 

effective adoption areas where there is vibrant existing commercial activity, 

including trusted artificial intelligence and autonomy, integrated networked 

systems-of-systems, microelectronics, renewable energy generation and 

storage, advanced computing and software; and human-machine interfaces; 

and (3) defense-specific areas, including directed energy, hypersonics, and 

integrated sensing and cyber. By focusing efforts and investments in these 

Critical Technology Areas the Department will accelerate the transition of key 

capabilities to the Military Services and the Combatant Commands.

No single critical technology is a stand-alone capability, nor should any 

recommendation be treated as static. Instead, continuous and rigorous 

assessment is needed to ensure the Department updates its scientific 

and technological priorities based on the best available data and analytic 

capabilities. This will ensure the DoD is focused on the right technologies 

for strategic competition. 
4 NATIONAL DEFENSE SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY 2023 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Rigorous Analysis

To build enduring advantages for the Joint Force in a resource-constrained environment, we must establish a 

methodological process to identify and prioritize investments in capabilities with the greatest potential to meet current 

and future warfighting needs. Making the right technology investments will require the DoD to harness the analytic power 

of modeling and simulation to inform our assessments of emerging technologies that have greater operational value. 

Developing highly accurate campaign-level system-of-systems models and simulations will help us identify capabilities and 

determine the mission contributions of specific technologies. Integrating physics-based models into campaign-level systemof-systems models will improve the accuracy of our assessments. These robust models and simulations will be coupled with 

comprehensive technology watch and horizon scanning efforts to inform future critical technology investments.

Joint Experimentation

Analysis alone cannot improve our ability to fight 

and win. The DoD will amplify and accelerate 

its capacity to convert joint warfighting concepts 

to capabilities through continuous and iterative 

joint experimentation to advance the NDS goals. 

The DoD research and engineering enterprise 

will leverage the best and brightest from the 

Military Services, the Combatant Commands, 

the Joint Staff, the OSD Components, and 

industry to identify promising joint solutions and 

technologies that are ready to be prototyped and 

experimented with in the field. These efforts will 

place particular emphasis on prototyping and 

experimenting with capabilities necessary to 

achieve the vision laid out in the NDS. 

II. Create and Field Capabilities at Speed and Scale

The DoD cannot afford for useful research to languish in the laboratory, for bureaucratic processes to prevent engagement 

with innovative private companies, or to allow old paradigms to prevent collaboration with some of our most trusted 

partners. Instead, the DoD will make the changes necessary to foster a more vibrant ecosystem that brings in new 

partners to grow our research and collaboration base. We will also recalibrate our technology protection paradigms to bring 

in our most trusted allies and partners, while enhancing protective measures for our critical technologies that contribute to 

our military advantage. To increase the vibrancy of the ecosystem and enhance the effectiveness of research efforts, we 

will continuously communicate with our allies and partners to generate more opportunities to collaborate. 

We cannot endlessly quest for exquisite capabilities at the expense of pragmatic solutions. The DoD will accelerate the 

process of turning ideas into capabilities by creating new pathways to rapidly experiment with asymmetric capabilities and 

deliver new technologies at scale. Doing so requires that we bridge the valley of death between prototypes and full-scale 

production. We will bridge the valley of death by improving the alignment of research and engineering processes with 

S.S. Katherine Johnson deployed a U.S. Army Space & Missile Defense Command assured 

Position, Navigation, and Timing joint capability technology demonstration satellite (NASA)
NATIONAL DEFENSE SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY 2023 5 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

acquisition and sustainment processes. This requires closer alignment between research and engineering scientists and 

engineers and acquisition and sustainment contracting officers and program executive offices, as well as alignment with 

industry and warfighters throughout. The DoD must foster a more vibrant innovation ecosystem by leveraging teamwork, 

which includes our allies and partners, research networks, and industry. Bringing our processes and systems into sync will 

enable the DoD to continuously transition joint solutions to procurement. 

Foster a More Vibrant Ecosystem

In keeping with our guiding principles, the DoD will not research and develop military capabilities alone but will instead 

continue to build upon our vast network of allies and partners to strengthen the competitive advantage our innovation 

ecosystem provides to the United States. A vibrant innovation ecosystem depends upon clear communication to ensure 

partners have accurate information and can build complementary processes to enable effective collaboration. True 

innovation requires novel approaches to challenging problems that often emerge in unexpected circumstances. Fostering 

a vibrant ecosystem that includes numerous partners and encourages cross-collaboration will create more opportunities 

for insights to emerge. We will increase partnerships with both traditional and non-traditional members of the defense 

innovation ecosystem. These partnerships include: academia, FFRDCs, UARCs, national laboratories, the Military 

Services’ Innovation Centers, non-profit entities, commercial industry, other Government departments and agencies, and 

our international allies and partners. At the same time, we recognize that increasing the number of participants in the 

innovation ecosystem will increase the associated risk of unauthorized technology transfers, requiring the DoD to take 

steps to ensure that sufficient technology protections are in place and that partners have demonstrated the ability and 

intent to protect sensitive and critical technologies. 

Strengthening Collaboration with International Allies and partners 

We know that U.S. strategic advantage in achieving our national security goals and maintaining our technological edge lies 

in our relationships with allies and partners. We will further strengthen our science and technology defense cooperation 

with allies and partners through both bilateral and multilateral initiatives, including our North Atlantic Treaty Organization 

(NATO) allies in the NATO Science and Technology Organization (STO), the Australia – United Kingdom (UK) – United 

States (AUKUS) partnership, the longstanding “Five Eyes” (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK, and the United 

States), The Technical Cooperation Program (TTCP) alliance, the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QSD) with Australia, 

India, Japan, and the United States, and new initiatives such as the NATO Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North 

Atlantic (DIANA). 

This visual conveys a simplified conceptualization, illustrating key areas where innovative technologies often struggle to reach subsequent stages. Defense 

innovation is a nonlinear process, with diverging paths for different sources and types of innovation.

Valleys of Death in Defense Innovation Acquisition
6 NATIONAL DEFENSE SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY 2023 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

The DoD will look to expand on these bilateral and multilateral engagements to create new science and technology 

partnerships with countries that share our values, that innovate to create new technologies, and that are committed to 

protecting technologies from competitors who seek to erode our advantages. In so doing, we will continue to share our 

respective priorities and identify opportunities for information and technical exchanges as well as seek opportunities 

for collaborative prototyping, experimentation, and co-development. Defense science and technology cooperation with 

our allies and partners will help create more capabilities, increase shared production capacity, and reinforce our shared 

commitment to, and therefore the credibility of, integrated deterrence. 

Non-Traditional Partnerships

We must establish new pathways to apply dual-use technologies that solve national security problems. The Defense 

Innovation Unit (DIU), the U.S. Air Force’s AFWERX, the U.S. Navy’s NavalX, the U.S. Army’s Rapid Capabilities and 

Critical Technologies Office (RCCTO), U.S. Army’s XTECH, the U.S. Special Operations Command’s SOFWERX, the 

U.S. Space Force’s SpaceWERX, and others in the Department all actively engage commercial companies to identify 

opportunities to leverage their dual-use technologies for military applications. To advance joint solutions, the DoD will 

develop new processes, procedures, and forums to more closely connect members of this innovation ecosystem to each 

other. Moreover, the DoD will tap into the innovation potential of our nation’s small businesses by expanding engagements 

with and investments into this community to support their ability to prototype and scale their products into production.

U.S. innovation in some critical technologies, particularly those that have unique military applications, may be 

underinvested in by private capital markets. Potential market failures make it difficult for the DoD to form partnerships to 

fund the prototyping of technologies critical to national security. To create the necessary innovation environments for these 

technologies, the DoD must forge new investment pathways to increase U.S. access to developing defense capabilities. 

The Department will identify and prioritize technology gaps that are underinvested, up and down the supply chain. The 

DoD will then partner DoD strategic capital with private capital markets to fill those gaps, increase DoD access to critical 

technologies, and protect critical industries from predatory foreign investment. 

Innovation in Industrial Processes 

Building enduring advantages

requires not only enhancements to 

end products but also innovations 

in industrial production. To improve 

industrial processes for defense 

while meeting the current and future 

needs of the Joint Force, the DoD 

has established nine Manufacturing 

Innovation Institutes (MII) as publicprivate partnerships. These DoD 

MIIs are focused on advancing 

manufacturing technologies and 

processes, building strong supporting 

ecosystems, and providing advanced 

A flexible silicon-on-polymer chip with over 7,000 times the memory capability of any flexible integrated circuit 

on the market today (U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory)
NATIONAL DEFENSE SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY 2023 7 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

manufacturing education and workforce development. We must build on these efforts to reduce the timelines for producing 

critical items and significantly increase our ability to manufacture new technologies at speed and scale. 

Continuously Transitioning Capabilities 

Transitioning capabilities from research and development into production requires continuous campaigns of prototyping 

and experimentation to identify capabilities early that provide operational benefit. Rapid innovation is a continuous cycle 

that demands the DoD evolve its approach to be more engaged throughout the technology transition process. As we 

experiment with emerging technology prototypes, we will use feedback from end users early and often to find and fix 

problems and make early decisions to reprioritize resources should a prototype prove non-beneficial. Leveraging this 

feedback to our advantage, we will accelerate the transition of the technologies that have the most operational value from 

prototypes into products and prepare for production and acquisition early on. 

To fast track this effort, the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering will collaborate with the 

Under Secretary of Defense Acquisition and Sustainment to develop new processes, procedures, and forums to drive close 

collaboration with the Military Services’ and OSD acquisition and sustainment communities to spearhead rapid fielding of 

capabilities at speed and scale. 

Defense Innovation Ecosystem

*As of 20 March 2023 | Visit www.CTOinnovation.mil for updates and more
8 NATIONAL DEFENSE SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY 2023 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Communicating Clearly 

We have multiple audiences to speak with and hear from across the Department, Congress, U.S. Government 

departments and agencies, industry, academia, allies and partners, and, above all, the American public. Effective 

communication is vital to ensuring the 

vast network that makes up our innovation 

ecosystem can contribute effectively 

and collaboratively on the most pressing 

challenges the warfighter faces and will 

face in the years to come. Furthermore, 

communication ensures the DoD receives 

useful feedback that improves the 

Department’s decision-making on the 

capabilities it aims to create and field and 

process improvements to ensure effective 

partnerships. Clear communication also 

informs investment decisions by industry 

and our international partners, enhances 

technology protection, and increases 

credible deterrence. 

To enhance communication inside the 

Department we will leverage the convening 

power of cross-organizational committees 

such as the Innovation Steering Group 

(ISG). The ISG was established by the 

Deputy Secretary of Defense to provide 

a forum to elevate discussion of research and engineering issues across the Military Services, the Joint Staff, and the 

Combatant Commands. The Department will continue to leverage the ISG to drive change through the research and 

engineering enterprise to better posture the DoD for strategic competition.

Outside the Department we will enhance communication with industry and academia, not only by communicating more, 

but also by increasing transparency about our core operational problems. The DoD will actively seek to engage with 

the press, trade associations, academic conferences, and discussions with executives at small, medium, and large 

technology companies. We will also strengthen our communication with other Government organizations, such as the 

Department of Energy, the Department of State, and the Department of Commerce, to advocate for DoD equities that 

enable our objectives of integrated deterrence, campaigning, and enduring advantage to be achieved. We will identify 

areas of mutual concern as we each tackle shared challenges. The Department will continue to use external advisory 

groups, such as the Defense Science Board and Defense Innovation Board, to perform independent assessments and 

provide outside recommendations. 

Consistent with our overarching national security interests and this Strategy’s guiding principles, we are prepared to 

accept more risk to share more information with allies and partners who share with us and protect sensitive information. 

The DoD is actively engaged in efforts to address over-classification with the objective to protect classified information 

while expanding collaboration with allies and partners. 

Quantum computing research in Adelphi, Maryland (U.S. Army Research Laboratory)
NATIONAL DEFENSE SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY 2023 9 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Finally, signaling to our adversaries is important 

when it comes to military capabilities. We will 

continue to use uncertainty to our advantage, 

complicating our competitors’ military 

preparations. We will also make deliberate 

decisions about what to conceal and reveal 

and when to do so, leveraging science and 

technology to both reassure our allies and deter 

potential adversaries. 

PROTECTING CRITICAL TECHNOLOGIES

Our competitors are equally aware of the 

strength of our innovation ecosystem and are 

actively attempting to acquire technologies from 

the United States through licit and illicit means. 

Maintaining our technology advantage requires 

the DoD to ensure we are taking the appropriate 

safeguards to protect sensitive technologies 

and military programs against intellectual 

property theft and technology diversion and 

exploitation. Neither the DoD nor the rest of the U.S. Government can protect technology alone. We must work in close 

coordination with partners and allies in Government, industry, and academia, at home and abroad. We are confident that 

America and our unparalleled network of allies and partners can out-compete and out-innovate strategic competitors by 

taking full advantage of open science, collaborative research, and free enterprise, while at the same time taking steps to 

ensure our technological advances and innovations do not benefit the militaries of our strategic competitors. 

III. Ensuring the Foundations for Research and Development

We cannot create 21st century capabilities using 20th century equipment, education, and employment policies. Building 

enduring advantage requires that we invest in infrastructure and reinvigorate our workforce. To execute Joint Missions in 

highly contested environments we must test our technology in realistically challenging circumstances. We need to collect 

and analyze data using modern digital infrastructure. In addition, we need to recruit, retain, and engage the most talented 

people in the world—both those in our workforce today and in the workforce of the future.

Enhancing Laboratory and Test Infrastructure

We must make foundational investments in the equipment and facilities required to discover and test new capabilities. 

Our infrastructure needs to be modernized to enable tests that model the Joint Force’s ability to fight through network 

degradation. We need to have the capability and capacity to accommodate new concepts and new ways of testing that 

emerging technologies will require. Not only will these investments introduce new capabilities to our infrastructure, they 

will also help attract and retain the most sought-after talent. 

A student conducts research during a 10-week internship in Washington D.C, part of a summer 

program administered by the U.S. Navy’s Historically Black Colleges & Universities and 

Minority Institution program (Naval Research Laboratory) 
10 NATIONAL DEFENSE SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY 2023 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Allies and partners, as well as industry, are integral to our laboratory and testing infrastructure. We aim to provide our 

most trusted allies and partners broader access to our laboratory and testing infrastructure than ever before, sharing and 

protecting together rather than cannibalizing scarce resources and talent among ourselves. Working together, we will 

expand opportunities for facility clearances, increase visibility into our supply chains, fix the weakest links, and ensure the 

integrity and security of research, development, and manufacturing infrastructure in government, industry, and academia. 

Upgrading Digital Infrastructure

We will continue to modernize our digital infrastructure to improve information sharing and knowledge management. 

Cloud computing and data sharing will be the norm, in alignment with the Department’s Digital Modernization Strategy, 

Digital Engineering Strategy, Data Strategy, and Cyber Security Strategy. Whenever appropriate, we will consult with 

allies and partners to build shared platforms that advance collaborative research and development. 

Technology standards and protocols are core to our digital infrastructure, national security, and economic prosperity. As 

we upgrade our digital infrastructure, we will reengage in the standards bodies that set technical specifications. We will 

also encourage industry, academia, and allies and partners to participate in standard-setting more actively. Working with 

our allies and partners we will continue to shape the international rules of the road. 

Cultivate the Current Workforce

Our people are essential for defense and science technology. The talent and expertise we need are globally distributed, 

mobile, and highly sought after. To compete, the Department must invest broadly in this workforce and develop 

technically minded and proficient leaders who understand how to identify talent.

We will also empower our scientists and 

engineers to grow their knowledge and 

skills. We will increase collaborative 

efforts with the private sector, such as 

the Defense Ventures Fellowship. We will 

also align more closely with FFRDCs and 

UARCs, as well as with industry, through 

programs like the Engineer and Scientist 

Exchange Program (ESEP). We will 

modernize training to address technical 

skills our people need for successful careers in the 21st century. By taking greater advantage of learning throughout the 

innovation ecosystem, we can more than keep pace with rapid changes in science and technology. 

Investments in the Workforce of Tomorrow

Education is another cornerstone for building enduring advantage. We will invest in tomorrow’s workforce at every level of 

education. Building skills at an early age through competition is critical to excite and encourage students to be interested 

in pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Under programs like the Defense 

STEM Education Consortium (DSEC), the National Defense Education Program (NDEP), and the Science, Mathematics 

and Research for Transformation (SMART) Program, we will further invest in our STEM workforce pipeline that is critical 

to our national security.

“We will increase the availability of fellowships, 

internships, and rotational assignments – including in 

private sector – to grow the skills of our workforce, 

provide a broad range of experiences, create 

collaboration opportunities, and carry best practices 

back to the Department.” — 2022 National Defense Strategy
NATIONAL DEFENSE SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY 2023 11 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Conclusion

The challenges we face modernizing our defense science and technology enterprise have been decades in the making. 

Moreover, we now face in the People’s Republic of China a strategic competitor with access to cutting-edge research and 

development and the will to mount a sustained challenge to a stable and open international system. This represents a 

clear challenge to the DoD’s technological edge. Wherever the Joint Force operates in the future, we should expect that 

the environment will be contested. The need for change is real and urgent. We cannot rest on our laurels or delay. 

We will focus on the NDS when identifying and investing in critical technology areas for the future. Working with our allies 

and partners, as well as industry, we will align research and engineering with acquisition to rapidly field new capabilities at 

speed and scale. We will also ensure the foundation for future research and development by investing in our people and 

the infrastructure they need. 

Together we will be far stronger. 

The Department will act urgently to address the diverse and complex challenges that our country faces to protect the 

security of the American people, to expand economic prosperity and opportunity, and to realize and defend the values at 

the heart of the American way of life. 

The SMART Scholarship-for Service program aims to bring more highly-skilled STEM professionals into the DoD civilian 

workforce. This competitive scholarship sponsors students in one of 24 national security-critical STEM fields. Selected 

students are matched with a relevant DoD facility and awarded a full-tuition scholarship. Each summer, they intern 

at that DoD facility, learning and building relationships. Upon graduation, they go work at this installation for a period 

commensurate to their scholarship: One year of scholarship is one year of paid service.

SMART Scholarship

Over 90% of SMART scholars 

successfully complete their 

sponsored degree and 

service requirement.

Over 70% have remained in 

DoD employment after their 

service requirement ended.

Over the next 5 years, 

SMART projects to award 

~2,500 scholarships.

SMART Scholarships Awarded Per Year

PROGRAM SPOTLIGHT