As Lieutenant General and the Air Force's Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Programs until August 2024, I was responsible for the Air Force's Program Objective Memorandum—the Service's five-year budget. In this position, I had specific responsibility for managing the distribution of funding and resources over the five years to meet our warfighting strategic goals. In general, we sought to balance resource allocation, strategic alignment, and risk acceptance. It drove—and drives today—how the Air Force maintains its position as the dominant global power in the skies.
This responsibility was not in isolation; allocating resources was done increasingly in the shadow of mounting concern that China's speed and emphasis on emerging technologies have advanced its warfighting capability. Their investments in artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing have been consistent, methodical, and robust. The reality has become clear: China now threatens to outpace the United States in several key areas of technological innovation, including cryptographic security. Cryptographic security serves as the digital core to complete our missions while keeping our airmen and women safe.
Until very recently, "traditional" encryption was sufficient to guarantee that even if our adversaries were able to obtain our data, they could not decrypt it, and therefore could not use it to disrupt our mission. This is no longer the case. The combination of advanced AI algorithms (a "today" problem) and quantum computing (also a" today" problem and accelerating based on the attack strategy of Harvest Now, Decrypt Later) is an existential threat to information security.
In recent years, China has made significant investments in AI and quantum computing, aiming to crack cryptographic algorithms. These advancements are not merely for technological progress or the sake of basic scientific research. Instead, these investments are meant to produce tools of war in both the economic and military spheres. Chinese advances pose a serious threat to global cryptographic security. The United States must stay ahead of these developments to safeguard our information.
China's investment in AI has been substantial. By leveraging AI, China aims to expose sensitive information and use it for nefarious purposes. In 2023, Chinese AI start-ups engaged in an arms race for capital, with a total of 26 generative AI start-ups landing noteworthy investments. The size of the AI market in China is projected to reach $140 billion by 2030. While this is a fraction of US investment over the same timeframe, China's investments are not benign; they are strategic moves to gain an upper hand in cyber warfare.
China has made significant strides in quantum computing. Unlike classical computers, quantum computers can perform complex calculations at unprecedented speeds, making them ideal for breaking cryptographic codes. China's investment in quantum computing technology is driven by the desire to gain a competitive edge in the field of cybersecurity.
The implications of these advancements are profound, as quantum computing is expected to render current cryptographic protections obsolete. China claims to have invested over $15 billion in public quantum funding, far outpacing the United States (by a factor of at least 1.5). Again, this investment is not by chance; China intends to use quantum computing as a weapon of war on the cyber battlefield.
China further stands to gain a competitive advantage in multiple industries, including finance, healthcare, and telecommunications. The potential shifts in global power dynamics are becoming real as the inability to secure vital data becomes a reality. If China gains access to previously protected information, it could compromise everything from banking to global cloud computing. In short, the US must stay ahead of this threat.
Yet there are answers to meet this daunting threat, and they exist in American software ingenuity. Cryptographic protections can be implemented immediately to safeguard a wide range of tools, including aircraft communications, life-saving MRI machines, power facilities, and even our cell phones. It comes from chaos or entropy.
Entropy (randomness) plays a critical, foundational role in making modern digital security rely on strong encryption to protect sensitive information. A July 2025 University of Cambridge study states that many encryption systems fail not because of algorithmic or hardware weaknesses, but due to insufficient entropy in their key generation process.
The study highlights that the "use of extremely high levels of entropy can have a significant positive impact in defending against AI and quantum attacks." In the view of some leading industry experts, it can push the AI and Quantum threat by a magnitude of up to ten years. Further, the study "recommends business leaders and investors evaluating security technologies, understanding entropy's role provides critical insight into the long-term viability and cost effectiveness of cryptographic solutions. High-entropy key generation represents a fundamental security investment that scales exponentially with minimal additional cost."
American ingenuity has stepped up to take this premise and put it into practice. The Patent and Trademark Office has issued patents that take this simple premise, providing a roadmap to American business leaders and security professionals to ensure we fully and successfully defend our economy in ways that avoid the erroneous belief that meeting this threat must be "long, hard, and expensive."
The impacts are enormous. In the case of the Air Force, this could immediately enhance our cyber-resilience and agility and save more than $10B over five years. If we take this approach from any other regulated industry, the benefits to American efficiency and our competitive leadership are mind-blowing.
Each budget cycle, I am reminded that the choices we make directly impact the Air Force's—and the nation's—ability to deter and, if necessary, defeat our adversaries. They are not waiting for us to catch up—they are moving forward aggressively and harnessing the full potential of their investments, particularly in advanced technologies.
This demands a decisive American response. We must ensure the security of our information. We have the ability and must do it now. The stakes are nothing less than the preservation of our national security, our economic vitality, and our leadership on the world stage.
Lieutenant General Richard Garner Moore Jr. (Ret.) served in the United States Air Force for 32 years, culminating his career as Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Programs at Air Force Headquarters (2022–2024).
