H.R.5193 would direct the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to conduct a feasibility study on incorporating militarily relevant applications of emerging biotechnology into wargaming exercises, and to advise on necessary design modifications. The review would consider biotechnology-enabled enhancements for warfighters, chemicals and materials for battlefield advantage, and potential adversaries’ biotech use beyond traditional biological weapons.
The Chairman would consult with combatant commands and other DoD stakeholders, and report back within 180 days with a detailed summary of recommended modifications and a plan to keep wargaming design current with biotech advances.
At a Glance
What It Does
The bill requires a formal feasibility review by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to determine whether and how to modify wargaming exercises to include militarily relevant biotechnology applications.
Who It Affects
Directly affects the Department of Defense, including the Joint Chiefs and combatant commands, and indirectly affects wargame designers, defense laboratories, and external stakeholders engaged in exercise design.
Why It Matters
It creates an official process to incorporate biotech-driven scenarios into wargaming, potentially shaping readiness, doctrine, and oversight as biotechnology advances accelerate.
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What This Bill Actually Does
The bill directs the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to undertake a feasibility study focused on whether militarily relevant biotechnology should be integrated into wargaming exercises. The review is not a blank check for new tech; it specifies what to consider: enhancements that could improve warfighter cognitive and physical performance, biotech-enabled chemicals and materials that might provide battlefield advantages, and any other relevant applications the Chair deems appropriate.
In conducting the study, the Chairman must consult with combatant commanders and other DoD stakeholders to ensure a realistic sense of what could be tested in exercises. The bill also defines wargaming to include Globally Integrated Wargames, signaling a broad scope for what counts as an exercise.
After enactment, the Chairman has up to 180 days to deliver a report to the Senate and House Armed Services Committees detailing recommended modifications to wargaming design and, if needed, a plan to keep the exercises current with biotech progress. The overall objective is to produce a structured, up-to-date approach to testing how biotech developments could influence military readiness and decision-making in simulated environments.
The Five Things You Need to Know
The bill directs the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to carry out a feasibility study on incorporating militarily relevant biotechnology into wargaming exercises.
The review must consider biotechnology-enabled enhancements for cognitive and physical performance, and biotech-enabled chemicals and materials for battlefield advantage.
The Chairman must consult with combatant commands and other DoD stakeholders to identify militarily relevant advancements.
A report is due within 180 days, detailing recommended wargaming modifications and a plan to update exercises.
For purposes of this act, ‘wargaming exercise’ includes Globally Integrated Wargames.
Section-by-Section Breakdown
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General directive: feasibility review for biotech in wargaming
The bill directs the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to conduct a feasibility review to determine whether modifying the design of wargaming exercises to incorporate militarily relevant biotechnology is feasible and advisable. The review lays the groundwork for a structured assessment of how biotechnology could be meaningfully and safely embedded into military simulations.
Elements to consider
The review must account for biotechnology-enabled enhancements that could improve warfighter cognitive and physical performance, biotechnology-enabled chemicals and materials that could affect battlefield outcomes, and adversaries’ use of biotechnology beyond traditional weapons. It also leaves room for additional militarily relevant biotechnology applications that the Chair recognizes as appropriate. This creates a framework to evaluate both opportunities and risks.
Consultation requirements
The Chair shall consult with the commanders of the combatant commands and other stakeholders inside and outside the Department of Defense as necessary to identify militarily relevant advancements in biotechnology that could potentially be incorporated into exercises. The consultation ensures that the study reflects current capabilities and realistic use cases.
Reporting requirement
Not later than 180 days after enactment, the Chairman shall submit a report to the Senate and House Armed Services Committees detailing the review results. The report must include a detailed summary of any recommended modifications to wargaming exercises and, where applicable, a plan for regularly updating the design of such exercises to keep pace with biotechnology advances.
Wargaming exercise defined
This section defines ‘wargaming exercise’ as a military exercise conducted to test or improve tactical expertise, and explicitly includes Globally Integrated Wargames. This ensures the study’s scope encompasses a broad range of modern, multinational, and cross-domain testing environments.
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Explore Defense in Codify Search →Who Benefits and Who Bears the Cost
Every bill creates winners and losers. Here's who stands to gain and who bears the cost.
Who Benefits
- Combatant Commands (CCMDs) gain access to biotech-informed, scenario-based exercises that better test readiness and decision-making under novel conditions.
- The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and DoD planners obtain a formal process for evaluating and updating wargaming design as biotech developments emerge.
- Wargame designers and analysts receive a framework for integrating biotechnology concepts into exercise scenarios and evaluation metrics.
- The defense research ecosystem (universities, national labs, and industry partners) could see opportunities to contribute to exercise development and evaluation.
- Congress oversight staff gain a concrete, time-bound report on potential modernization steps and associated implications.
Who Bears the Cost
- Department of Defense incurs costs to conduct the feasibility study and to modify exercise design where warranted.
- DoD budgets may need to accommodate increased coordination, data collection, and stakeholder engagement activities.
- Wargaming exercise organizers must adapt processes and curricula to include biotech content, potentially increasing complexity and staffing needs.
- Defense contractors and academic partners may bear costs associated with piloting biotech-enabled scenarios and ensuring safety and compliance.
- Safeguards and dual-use risk management may require investment in ethical, legal, and safety oversight processes.
Key Issues
The Core Tension
Balancing the potential readiness benefits of biotech-informed wargaming with the dual-use risks, safety concerns, and ethical considerations inherent in militarizing biotechnology within simulation environments.
The bill creates an opportunity to modernize wargaming with biotechnology-driven scenarios, but it also entails tensions around dual-use risk, safety, and ethical considerations. Implementing biotech in simulations requires careful governance to avoid misinterpretation of fictional capabilities as real-world threats.
There may be significant coordination costs and a need for ongoing safeguards as technologies evolve. The 180-day reporting deadline constrains the initial assessment, but the bill contemplates a plan to keep exercise designs updated as biotech advances occur.
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