Army Adapts to Biological Threats Amid AI and Biotech Advances

The U.S. Army has unveiled a new plan to prepare soldiers to fight through biological attacks, shifting from an approach that assumed all threats could be stopped to one that integrates biological warfare scenarios into routine combat training. This strategic update comes as advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and biotechnology raise concerns about the potential for adversaries to develop novel biological weapons.

Dr. Alison Tamasi, a senior official at the Army's Nuclear and Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Agency, stated that complete protection for every soldier against every possible bio-threat is unrealistic. "We can't put them in a bubble," she noted.

The Army's new biodefense plan, signed last week, aims to prepare soldiers to deploy and fight in biologically contested environments by 2035. A key change involves incorporating biological incidents into major Army combat exercises, compelling commanders to manage potential outbreaks while continuing their primary missions. This approach reframes biological threats not just as medical emergencies but as potential disruptions to military operations that require operational planning.

The first two-year implementation cycle will focus on establishing policies, enhancing inter-organizational coordination, and developing personnel with specialized biological expertise. Subsequent phases are expected to address more advanced technologies and acquisition efforts.

This initiative is partly driven by concerns over AI and biotechnology's dual-use nature, where technologies that accelerate medical discoveries can also potentially enable the rapid emergence of new biological threats. The U.S. government continues to assess whether Russia maintains an offensive biological weapons program, a concern amplified by a recent mysterious death in Russia linked to an anti-plague facility.

Tamasi emphasized that the Army's strategy is based on broad intelligence rather than a singular adversary, aiming to address biological threats regardless of their origin, whether accidental or deliberate. The priority for Army commanders is to respond to potential threats and maintain operations, with attribution questions handled by the broader U.S. government.

To enhance threat detection, the Army is consolidating information from environmental monitoring, medical facilities, and intelligence reporting. This includes exploring wastewater surveillance, similar to methods used during the COVID-19 pandemic, to provide commanders with a more comprehensive understanding of potential biological threats and enable earlier responses.

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the limitations of solely treating biological threats as public health emergencies, reinforcing the need for military leaders outside the medical field to integrate these risks into their operational planning. The strategy also addresses misinformation as an operational challenge, particularly concerning decisions on vaccines and protective measures during a biological incident.

Seminars on biodefense are being rolled out for senior leaders, with a focus on providing instruction on biodefense and the realities of biological threats. The Army ultimately hopes that demonstrating resilience and the ability to continue missions despite a biological attack could serve as a deterrent, reducing the perceived military advantage an adversary might gain from employing such weapons.