February Edition

Tech Radar

Strategic Competition from Emerging Technology.

Tracking and analysing recent developments in emerging and disruptive technologies with military relevance, from AI and autonomy to Quantum, Space, Hypersonic, Biotechnologies, and more.

This episode examines how emerging and disruptive technologies have become a central arena of strategic competition, where advantage depends less on invention alone and more on rapid integration, scale, resilience and adaptation.

The podcast explores how artificial intelligence, drones and autonomy, hypersonic systems, quantum technologies, space capabilities, and biotechnology are reshaping modern warfare. It highlights the intensifying technological rivalry between the United States and China, with Beijing advancing in areas such as AI-enabled command systems, drone swarms, quantum experimentation, space expansion and biotechnology, while Russia scales mass drone production and adapts doctrine accordingly.

Across NATO, the emphasis is shifting from experimentation to operational deployment — embedding AI across military services, institutionalising drone warfare, strengthening sovereign data and space infrastructure, accelerating hypersonic development, and preparing for post-quantum security challenges. From the Ukrainian battlefield to large-scale Allied exercises, the episode underscores that technological competition is now a contested battlespace in its own right.

Listen to the full episode for a concise strategic overview of how these developments are shaping the future of conflict and what they mean for NATO and its partners.

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