Emerging Technology

Emerging Technology

The unregulated development and deployment of emerging technologies—referring to scientific and technical developments that, if applied in the military sphere, could have transformative effects on the future of warfare in unpredictable and potentially hazardous, destabilizing ways—could increase the risk of accidental and unintended conflict escalation. Whether manifested in new domains, new applications, or new military capabilities, these technologies can include hypersonic weapons, artificial intelligence-enabled capabilities, cyberspace operations, counterspace capabilities, and the like.

The Arms Control Association (ACA), in conjunction with other experts and organizations, has proposed various measures to reduce such risks, as laid out in issue briefs, reports, articles in Arms Control Today, and more. To receive updates on developments in this field, join today or sign up for our regular updates list.

CHARTS REPORTS

  • Timothy Farnsworth
    May 2, 2013

    In an effort to garner wider international support for its proposed international code of conduct for outer space activities, the European Union announced last month that it plans to hold a series of consultations on the current draft.

  • Timothy Farnsworth
    February 28, 2013

    China successfully launched a land-based missile interceptor Jan. 28, according to Xinhua, the country’s official news agency.

  • Timothy Farnsworth
    November 2, 2012

    The second diplomatic meeting of space-faring countries on the European Union’s proposed international code of conduct for space, which was supposed to take place in October in New York, has been postponed until some time in 2013, an EU official familiar with the issue said last month.

  • Timothy Farnsworth
    August 30, 2012

    The European Union in late July provided details on its process of adopting an international code of conduct for outer space activities, clarifying why the process is not directly tied to any of the various existing UN forums and what the EU’s planned timetable is for negotiating the agreement.

  • Timothy Farnsworth
    July 5, 2012

    The European Union circulated a new draft of its proposed international code of conduct for outer space activities at its first international meeting of governmental experts June 5 in Vienna.

  • Timothy Farnsworth
    March 2, 2012

    The United States will join with the European Union and other space-faring countries to develop an international code of conduct for outer space activities, but will not sign on to the EU’s current draft of a proposed code, U.S. officials have said.

  • Uzi Rubin
    January 12, 2012

    A comprehensive review of missile proliferation published in 1988 listed 20 nonindustrialized nations that were deploying various types of ballistic missiles at the time. Tucked toward the bottom of that list was one Middle Eastern country with just three types of missiles, two of which were actually simple, unguided rockets. That country was Iran.

  • Timothy Farnsworth
    August 30, 2011

    The Pentagon’s new cyber strategy provides the department with guidance on how to defend the United States in cyberspace. The strategy states that cyberspace is an operational domain in which the rules of armed conflict apply.

  • Peter Crail
    July 7, 2011

    Iran carried out its second successful satellite launch, demonstrating greater experience with rocket technologies that also could benefit its missile programs.