The National Security Strategy notes that technology is central to today’s geopolitical competition and to the future of our national security, economy, and democracy. The United States and allied leadership in technology and innovation has long underpinned our economic prosperity and military strength. In the next decade, critical and emerging technologies (CET) are poised to retool economies, transform militaries, and reshape the world. The United States is committed to a future where these technologies increase the security, prosperity, and values of the American people and like-minded democracies. Recent updates to the CET list build upon earlier lists and may inform government-wide and agency-specific efforts supporting U.S. technological competitiveness and national security.
The critical and emerging technology areas in the 2024 update are:
- Advanced Computing
- Advanced Engineering Materials
- Advanced Gas Turbine Engine Technologies
- Advanced and Networked Sensing and Signature Management
- Advanced Manufacturing
- Artificial Intelligence
- Biotechnologies
- Clean Energy Generation and Storage
- Data Privacy, Data Security, and Cybersecurity Technologies
- Directed Energy
- Highly Automated, Autonomous, and Uncrewed Systems and Robotics
- Human-Machine Interfaces
- Hypersonics
- Integrated Communication and Networking Technologies
- Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Technologies
- Quantum Information and Enabling Technologies
- Semiconductors and Microelectronics
- Space Technologies and Systems
