What is the U.S. military researching?
And what if the research actually helped people?
The U.S. Department of Defense spends a lot of money—far more than any other executive branch department—to research, develop, test, and evaluate (RDT&E) new technology. It had roughly $152 billion to spend on RDT&E during fiscal 2024.
The following map shows the corporations doing the military’s latest research and what those workers could be researching once the public sheds the business of war.
Methodology
I scoured fiscal 2024 U.S. military contracting announcements in order to find all announcements pertaining to RDT&E.
My study focused on contracts issued by a military research lab (e.g., the Air Force Research Lab) or to a federally funded research and development center (FFRDC). I included other contracts in the study if 90-100% of the obligated funds were RDT&E funds.
The focus was on actual research and development of new technology. Therefore, I excluded following:
administration, planning, management, program security, or bureaucratic support of research and development;
information technology (IT) support or computing for a military research lab;
general, unspecified, and/or vague research and development;
and facility construction, installation, or repair.
Also excluded were contracts paid for in part or in whole with RDT&E funds, but which had little or nothing to do with actual research and development.
I use the term “contract” in this study to include contracts, contract modifications, and contract options.
Christian Sorensen is a researcher focused on the corporations profiting from war. A U.S. Air Force veteran, Sorensen is a senior fellow at the Eisenhower Media Network (EMN), a group of veterans who believe a better world is possible.