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Today, Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering, Emil Michael announced new actions to protect Department of War (DoW)-funded research from malign foreign influence, intellectual property theft, and other forms of exploitation that threaten the security and economic interests of the United States. The Fundamental Research Security Initiatives and Implementation memorandum reflects the Department's commitment to strong research security and close alignment with congressional oversight efforts, including the House and Senate Armed Services Committees, House and Senate Appropriations Committees, and the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.
"The War Department is intensifying its efforts to safeguard taxpayer-funded research and is upholding the integrity of America's scientific community," said Emil Michael, Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering. The memorandum directs several immediate steps to strengthen protections across the Department's research enterprise.
Key actions include:
- Prohibiting fundamental research assistance award funding to companies listed under Section 1260H of the National Defense Authorization Act, which identifies Chinese military companies operating in the United States
- Establishing a department-wide Fundamental Research Risk Review Repository to improve information collection and sharing across all DoW components
- Identifying and developing automated vetting and continuous monitoring capabilities where practicable to help detect and mitigate foreign influence risks
Additional measures include further annual spot checks of research awards, standardized reporting of current and pending foreign support, expanded training for research security personnel and coordinated assessments of cases highlighted by congressional oversight committees. These steps allow the Department to identify vulnerabilities faster, more aggressively enforce compliance and more rigorously strengthen protections across all DoW-funded research.
Through these actions, the Department will better anticipate emerging threats, adapt to evolving adversarial tactics, and maintain America's position as a global leader in innovation and research. The War Department will continue to secure the bleeding edge of discovery, so our warfighters remain the most lethal force on earth.
