How can the U.S. government and its allies make effective use of artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) and other emerging technologies? Our research in this area examines AI-enabled emerging technologies relevant to national security, opportunities and challenges for adoption and application, and opportunities for alliances in the development and deployment of AI-enabled systems.

Reports

China’s Military AI Wish List

Emelia Probasco, Sam Bresnick, and Cole McFaul

| February 2026

This report examines thousands of Chinese-language open-source requests for proposal (RFPs) published by the People’s Liberation Army between January 1, 2023, and December 31, 2024. The RFPs the authors reviewed offer insights into the PLA’s priorities and ambitions for AI-enabled military technologies associated with C5ISRT: command, control, communications, computers, cyber,...

Formal Response

RFI Response: Office of Science and Technology Policy’s Accelerating the American Scientific Enterprise Request for Information

Steph Batalis, Jack Karsten, and Julie George

| December 19, 2025

CSET submitted the following response to the White House Office of Science and Technology in support of its "Accelerating the American Scientific Enterprise initiative.

Reports

The U.S. Aerial Drone Market

Kyle Miller, Sam Bresnick, Jacob Feldgoise, and Christian Schoeberl

| November 2025

This report assesses the types of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) platforms marketed in the United States and the finances of U.S.-headquartered UAV companies. It finds that most companies develop small UAVs, and only a handful develop more complex military systems. The report also finds that most drone manufacturers are privately...

Blog

China’s Space Progress Report

Kathleen Curlee

| December 5, 2025

How far has Beijing advanced on the goals set in its 2021 Space Perspective? Drawing from open-source evidence, this analysis tracks progress across seven mission areas. The findings reveal steady, wide-ranging advances toward 2027 objectives, with one major shortfall: persistent challenges in debris mitigation.

Blog

The Future of Drones in Ukraine II: A Report from the NATO-Ukraine Defense Innovators Forum

Kyle Miller

| October 16, 2024

This blog post describes key takeaways from the NATO-Ukraine Defense Innovators Forum, held in Krakow, Poland in June 2024. It overviews changing concepts of operation, battlefield realities, and technological aspirations and innovations in Ukraine, with a focus on uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) and counter-UAV systems. It builds upon CSET’s previous...

Blog

Building a Data Collection Pipeline: Insights from a CSET Internship

Jordan Monts

| September 12, 2024

This blog post recounts the development of a Python-based data collection pipeline project completed in the summer of 2024 by CSET inaugural intern Jordan Monts. During his project research and work, he used the Requests and BeautifulSoup libraries to create a two-part system to gather and process web data, support...

Emelia Probasco

Senior Fellow

Cole McFaul

Senior Research Analyst and Andrew W. Marshall Fellow

Julie George

Research Fellow

Kathleen Curlee

Research Analyst

Lauren Kahn

Senior Research Analyst

Owen Daniels

Associate Director of Analysis and Andrew W. Marshall Fellow

Sam Bresnick

Research Fellow and Andrew W. Marshall Fellow

Sam Bresnick, Emelia Probasco, and Cole McFaul shared their expert analysis in an op-ed published by Foreign Affairs. In their piece, they examine China’s rapid push to integrate artificial intelligence into its military modernization strategy and the implications for U.S. national security.

Kathleen Curlee and Lauren Kahn shared their expert analysis in an op-ed published by The National Interest. In their piece, they examine the enduring dangers posed by anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons and the long-term risks that space debris presents to satellites, astronauts, and the global space economy.

In their op-ed in Newsweek, Jack Corrigan and Sam Bresnick discuss the recent release of DeepSeek's AI model, R1, which has surprised the global tech industry by matching the performance of leading U.S. models at a lower cost. This development challenges the assumption that restricting China's access to advanced chips would significantly hinder its AI progress.

In her Washington Post op-ed, Emelia Probasco shared her expert insights in an op-ed published by The Washington Post. In her piece, she discusses the strategic partnership between defense company Anduril and OpenAI to develop anti-drone technology for the U.S. military.

In a KCBS Radio segment that explores the rapid rise of AI in the defense industry, Emelia Probasco provides her expert insight.

In their op-ed featured in Breaking Defense, CSET's Sam Bresnick and Emelia Probasco provide their expert analysis on the involvement of US tech giants in conflicts, such as the Ukraine war, and raise important questions about their role and potential entanglements in future conflicts, particularly those involving Taiwan.