Strategic Intelligence: Nanotechnology in Defense (2024)

Strategic Intelligence: Nanotechnology in Defense (2024)

Summary

As a broad and ever-evolving field, nanotechnology has created vast opportunities for the development of different technologies, with myriad applications and uses. Concerned with minute technologies on a scale of 100 nanometers or less, known as the nanoscale, nanotechnology is the deliberate manipulation of structures to design, produce, and use new technologies in this nanoscale. The term nanotechnology encompasses a wide range of different materials with many different properties due to the unique size shape and structure of the different compounds. Chiefly among them come optical activity, electrical and thermal conductivity, resistance, or ability to act as a semiconductor, high tensile strength, and robust structure while remaining lightweight and compact, and differing chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) sensitivities, all of which depend on the nanomaterial itself. These properties can thus reduce the size of current technologies, while increasing efficiency, leading to better-built, more precise, and smarter products. Given the potential applications of nanosciences in defense, the technology is also posited by many to be of huge potential risk and danger to international security, geopolitical conflict, and even public health.

Since its conception, nanotechnology has been a field widely invested in on a global scale, from research and production of raw materials to their applications and implementations in complex systems and devices. Subsequently, the defense industry has adopted their use, as the diverse properties they offer provide great potential for improvement and innovation in all areas of the industry. China, India, the US, South Korea, and Iran are currently the world leaders in research and development, with China dominating the field. This report explores the drivers and incentives of investment and exploration in nanotechnologies for the aerospace and defense industries, as well as the trending direction the technology is taking in practical application. Ultimately, while some specific use cases are highlighted in this report, nanotechnology remains broadly in the experimental and tentative early stages, with limited commercialization, especially in the defense sphere.

Key Highlights

• Studies of emerging technological trends and their impact on critical mineral mining.
• Analysis of several countries with critical minerals reserves and their position in the global defense supply chain, along with an overview of government actions and regulations pertaining to the security-of-supply in critical minerals for defense.

• The key incentives for using nanotechnology in the defense sector suppliers face are covered. The investment and research & development opportunities for armed forces, suppliers, and institutional investors, across much of the defense value chain are covered. An overview of some of the nanotechologies most used in defense products is featured.

• Determine potential investment companies based on trend analysis and market projections.
• Gaining an understanding of the market challenges and opportunities surrounding the defense nanotechnologies theme.
• Understanding how spending on nanotechnology will fit into the overall defense market.