The Pentagon is requesting $17.2 billion to fund science and technology (S&T) projects in fiscal year (FY) 2025, with most of that money designated for artificial intelligence (AI), space technology projects, and integrated sensing and cyber efforts, according to the Defense Department’s (DoD) technology chief.
“If you see where the bulk of our funding is going … the biggest bar chart is trusted AI and autonomy. So that’s not going to be surprising. The second area we [put] a lot of money in is in the space technology arena. The third piece is the integrators’ sensing and cyber,” said Heidi Shyu, undersecretary of defense for research and engineering, during an April 30 online seminar hosted by the National Defense Industrial Association.
DoD plans to fund 14 critical technology areas in FY2025, including trusted AI and autonomy, space, integrated sensing and cyber, integrated network systems of systems, renewable energy generation and storage, and microelectronics. The department also plans to fund human-machine interface, advanced materials, directed energy, advanced computing and software, hypersonics, biotech, quantum, and 5G/FutureG.
Of that $17.2 billion request, 98 percent will fund the 14 critical tech areas, with about two thirds of the total directed to AI, space tech, and integrated sensing and cyber.
“Those three categories of areas we’re funding composed about 65 [percent] of our S&T budget,” Shyu said.
Specifically, the budget directs $4.9 billion for trusted AI and autonomy, $4.3 billion for space, and $1.9 billion for integrated sensing and cyber.
Additional tech area funding includes $1.6 billion for integrated network system of system, $1.5 billion for renewable energy generation and storage, $515 million for microelectronics, $458 million for human-machine interface, $414 for advanced materials, $355 million for directed energy, $333 million for advanced computing and software, $242 million for hypersonics, $224 million for biotech, $76 million for quantum, and $38 million for 5G/FutureG.
Notably, the department’s total S&T funding request for FY 2025 is 3.4 percent lower than the FY 2024 request. Last year, the department requested $17.8 billion.
“That is primarily driven by the fact that a lot more of the requests in terms of priorities went into the 6.4 bin as opposed to 6.1, 6.2, and 6.3,” Shyu said.
In other words, this decrease shows the department’s shift in priorities from basic and applied research to expediting the technology transition process into operational use, as the U.S. aims to field new capabilities at scale.
Shyu explained in her presentation that funding for budget activities 6.1 basic research, 6.2 applied research, and 6.3 advanced technology development only account for about two percent of the Pentagon’s S&T overall budget request. The majority would be for advanced tech development – about $9 billion – while $5.8 billion will go to applied research efforts and $2.5 billion to basic research.
