The Pentagon announced the official opening of the Applied Intelligence and Security Research Laboratory at the University of Maryland.

First Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks, Undersecretary for Intelligence and Security Ronald Moultree and representatives from the University of Maryland officially inaugurated the Applied Intelligence and Security Research Laboratory in College Park, Maryland. US Department of Defense.

It is noted that this laboratory is one of the 14 research centers of the Pentagon, operating on the basis of universities.

It conducts basic and applied research on human and socio-technical systems, artificial intelligence, automation, augmented reality, as well as advanced computer and other new technologies.

“This is the only lab that focuses on the needs of the intelligence and security community,” Hicks said.

- It is a flexible and responsive organization.

It uses technology and science to confront ever-growing national security challenges.

Now is the time for that. "

In this context, the first deputy head of the Pentagon also said that the United States is facing challenges in the field of global security, which include "threats" from Russia, Iran and North Korea.

"The ministry also described China as an increasing challenge," the ministry said in a statement.

According to Hicks, “destabilizing actions” threaten critical US infrastructure, undermine its democratic institutions, and negatively impact US readiness and competitive advantage.

“Given these dynamic threats, the Department of Defense needs to conduct research, create innovative technologies and actively experiment.

Our laboratory will give us just such an opportunity, ”she stressed.

"Will be engaged in exploration"

According to experts, the creation by the Pentagon of the Laboratory for Applied Research in Intelligence and Security is in line with the US policy "aimed at containing the Russian Federation and the PRC."

“Moscow and Beijing are for Washington the main obstacles on the way to world domination.

There is a consensus among the American elites on this matter.

At the same time, the United States is most worried about the independent trajectory of the foreign policy of Russia and China, "said Konstantin Blokhin, a leading researcher at the Center for Security Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, in an interview with RT.

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In addition, he recalled that the US Department of Defense also considers Iran and North Korea to be "threats", since for the Pentagon they are "rogue states" with whose foreign policy Washington does not agree.

In turn, the American political scientist Malek Dudakov believes that the laboratory that the Pentagon entrusts with work on breakthrough technologies will in fact "be engaged in intelligence and tracking the progress of its opponents - primarily Russia and China.

“It is quite possible that all this will be carried out through hacking and cyber attacks.

Moreover, they will be interested precisely in access to technologies that other states have at their disposal, "he said in an interview with RT.

Konstantin Blokhin adheres to a similar position.

According to him, it is important for the Pentagon to understand what kind of developments Russia and China are engaged in.

“The US Department of Defense wants to keep abreast of the main trends on which the attention of Moscow and Beijing is focused.

And the new laboratory is aimed precisely at obtaining this information.

Americans are especially concerned about the progress of the PRC in the field of artificial intelligence, robotization and automation of work processes, and 5G technologies.

As for Russia, the Pentagon would not mind knowing the details of its developments in the field of hypersound, space weapons, including anti-satellite, "Blokhin said.

In his view, the establishment by the Pentagon of the Laboratory for Applied Research in Intelligence and Security is also one of the ways to raise more funds.

“After all, all the programs, research and other activities of this new structure of the US Department of Defense will require a considerable budget.

Another thing is to what extent all this will allow achieving specific results.

Often, certain defense programs in the United States are closed without completing their mission, ”the expert says.

Malek Dudakov also believes that the launch by the Pentagon of institutes like a new laboratory, in fact, boils down to the fact that, under the auspices of the fight against external enemies, the US Department of Defense is just coming up with new ways to get more money.

"In addition, the US military needs to justify the increase in defense budgets, as well as somehow explain to taxpayers what their money is spent on," the analyst says.

"It's easier to knock out funds"

Experts also draw attention to the fact that, hiding behind "external threats" allegedly emanating from Russia and China, the Pentagon is not only creating laboratories and other structures, but also promoting other initiatives aimed at attracting additional funds.

In particular, in February, the Deputy Head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US Armed Forces, General John Hayten, at a virtual symposium of the American Air Force Association, spoke in favor of investing in the nuclear triad of the United States, which, according to him, is designed to contain the Russian Federation and the PRC, as well as to some extent North Korea and Iran from possible nuclear strikes against the United States and its allies.

Hayten also lamented that Moscow is already in the final stages of a program to improve its nuclear arsenal, while Washington is just launching it, which, he said, is a problem for the United States.

In addition, in order to counter Russian weapons, the American general considers it necessary for the United States to have effective sea-launched cruise missiles to counter Russian potential, as well as low-yield nuclear weapons that can be deployed on submarines.

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Analysts note that the Pentagon also uses statements about the danger allegedly emanating from Moscow and Beijing to attract additional funding in the field of hypersound.

For example, after Hayten's announcement in the same month, the Pentagon published a message from the senior director of the hypersonic weapons program of the US Undersecretary of Defense for Scientific and Technological Development Mike White. It said that in response to the "aggressive" use of hypersonic technology by Russia and China, the US Department of Defense is working to create a comprehensive strategy to accelerate the development and deployment of offensive hypersonic systems, as well as defenses against these types of weapons. According to White, Moscow and Beijing are intensively developing hypersonic technologies and putting such systems into service.

Competition with the Russian Federation and the PRC in the Pentagon is also motivated by the need to accelerate the overall modernization of the US combat capabilities. As Hayten said in September, if there are no potential opponents, then you can “eliminate all risks and move slowly,” but if there is a “rapidly developing competitor like China and Russia,” then the United States needs to “move more actively”. However, due to bureaucracy and fear of risks, they are extremely slowly improving their military potential in the context of a competitive struggle with Russia and China, the American general said.

As Konstantin Blokhin emphasizes, in those defense areas where the Pentagon needs the largest investments, its functionaries are strenuously repeating about the danger allegedly emanating from the Russian Federation and the PRC or about their allegedly aggressive activities. According to him, the US Department of Defense wants, on the one hand, to "update this or that direction," and on the other, to justify the increase in funding for these areas.

“All this is needed to justify the colossal budget of the Pentagon and to attract additional funds in addition to those defense areas, which, in the opinion of the American military, should be emphasized.

Therefore, the Pentagon is deliberately matching imaginary threats from the Russian Federation and China to such topics as the creation of the Laboratory for Applied Research in Intelligence and Security, the modernization of the nuclear arsenal and the acceleration of programs in the field of hypersound, ”the analyst said.

Dudakov has a similar point of view.

In his opinion, the US Department of Defense uses statements about the danger allegedly emanating from the geopolitical opponents of the United States to motivate its legislators and the American public to spend more money on defense.

“Any unfounded theses about the aggressive actions of Moscow and Beijing are used here.

It is easier for the Pentagon, hiding behind threats from Russia, China and other countries, to extract funds for its activities, as well as to pursue a policy of pressure under this pretext, ”concluded Dudakov.