NATURE OF WARFARE CHANGING: When Defense Secretary Mark Esper appears before the House Armed Services Committee this morning, he will pitch the idea that the U.S. military needs to fully embrace “critical and emerging technologies,” if it is to maintain its edge over other adversaries, especially China.

“We are in the midst of rapid technological change that has the potential to fundamentally alter the character of war. Our adversaries are systematically and strategically developing and fielding advanced systems, eroding the advantage the United States military has maintained in conventional warfare,” Esper says in his prepared testimony released by the Pentagon.