Executive Summary
China is on track to operationalize advanced cognitive warfare capabilities within the decade. Its fusion of military and civilian research accelerates dual-use cognitive weapons advances.
People’s Liberation Army (PLA) doctrine emphasizes neurological disruption to weaken adversary decision-making and will. As a result, China’s military invests heavily in Brain Computer Interfaces (BCIs) through its national “China Brain Project” (2016 – 2030). It specifically targets dual-use neurotechnology such as non‑invasive BCIs for military applications. That said, we have not uncovered any publicly available information showing that China is presently fielding functional versions of such interfaces.
Meanwhile, Russia’s cognitive warfare efforts remain focused on psychological and information operations over neuro-based tools. Moscow continues leveraging reflexive control and disinformation campaigns to manipulate perceptions. This reflects continuity with Soviet-era active measures and information warfare doctrine. Russia does not invest heavily in neurotechnology.
On the other hand, the US and allies are likely vulnerable to strategic surprise in the cognitive domain. This is due to fragmented development of programs, disunity between the US and allies, and underinvestment in defensive measures against cognitive threats. Ongoing uncertainty and debate about the origins of Havana Syndrome may reflect such unpreparedness.