We’re also developing Large Displacement Unmanned Underwater Vehicles, which will enable undersea operations as never before. It won’t be long before unmanned, intelligent swarming vehicles from under, on and above the sea are able to overwhelm adversaries’ vessels and protect U.S. ships.

You may have seen a YouTube video of Amazon’s small, experimental drone delivering a book to a customer’s doorstep. Now imagine a sailor or Marine pulling out a tablet and directing a full-size, unmanned helicopter to deliver 5,000 pounds of valuable supplies—whether lifesaving medical gear, food or ammunition—autonomously. That isn’t fantasy. It was done successfully during test flights this year in Quantico, Va.

Advanced technology such as this requires extensive research in fundamental science and engineering. To that end, the Department of the Navy has the largest basic-research portfolio in the military. These investments are managed by the Office of Naval Research, overseeing thousands of academic grants and partnerships with small businesses and industry.

New military technologies require new skills in the age of cyberwarfare. To stay ahead, we have developed new network-security tools that defend against cyberattacks.