The advantages of acquiring and exploiting advanced military technologies for increased military leverage is self-evident. At the same time, we must recognize that we live in an era when the notion of what constitutes a “militarily relevant technology” is becoming harder to identify and define. The 4IR – particularly artificial intelligence (AI), autonomous systems, “big data,” and the like – is largely embedded in the commercial high-tech sector; at the same time, the military potential of the 4IR is both vast and mostly self-evident. For all these reasons, therefore, militaries and governments around the world are increasingly focused on how and where advanced commercial technologies, innovations, and breakthroughs might create new capacities for military power, advantage, and leverage. This process of exploiting such civilian-based advanced technologies for military use is increasingly known as “military–civil fusion” (MCF). MCF is essentially about transferring advanced commercial technologies to military use through the joint civil–military development and application of cutting-edge technologies to military products.

As the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) has become one of the central paths to military modernization, the ability of states to implement military–civil fusion (MCF) will likely factor more in how militaries gain advantages over their rivals. Critical 4IR technologies are increasingly viewed as key force multipliers. Many countries have adopted measures to promote MCF in order to exploit the 4IR for military needs but the implementation of MCF remains challenging. Constraints include differing priorities between the military and commercial sectors when it comes to 4IR and the reluctance of civilian enterprises to enter into technology partnerships with the military. Countries with restrictive, statist approaches toward economic development, such as China and India, may find themselves stymied by a culture that hinders innovation, as opposed to the United States and Israel where entrepreneurism, experimentation, and risk-taking are encouraged. Nevertheless, MCF is likely to become a core military-technological development strategy for most countries seeking great power status or who see technology as a critical force multiplier in national defense.

The defense industry in the United States that emerged during World War II is embedded in the nation’s civilian sector but arms manufacturing has remained segregated from the civilian economy. Earlier rounds of civil–military integration, particularly in aerospace and computing, resulted in military and civilian technology silos, despite efforts in the post-Cold War era to create a dual-use technology base. In the twenty-first century, however, the US military’s emerging technological requirements have driven a new effort to exploit fourth industrial revolution (4IR) technologies through military–civil fusion (MCF). In particular, the US military seeks to exploit such 4IR technologies as AI, quantum computing, microelectronics, and autonomous systems. The US Department of Defense has undertaken several initiatives to access advanced commercial innovations, particularly in the IT sector. AI is particularly driving MCF as this is seen as a critical force multiplier in future warfare. It is too soon to ascertain how successful current US efforts at MCF will be as many of the current programs sponsoring MCF are still at the initial stages of exploration, experimentation, and evaluation.