After becoming key actors in the international strategic environment, states constantly seek new components of power to maintain their control and leadership over the international system or to secure new and noteworthy leading positions—especially those rising powers that have begun to compete and aspire to bring about transformation and change in the rules governing this environment. Accordingly, these influential powers strive to double their efforts and increase their expenditures on research and development across various fields, particularly in military affairs, in order to achieve qualitative and cumulative breakthroughs in the components of military power. This pursuit has led to the emergence of a new form of power: artificial intelligence in military affairs.
This development drives competing powers to race toward acquiring this new source of power, aiming to achieve what is referred to as power differentiation based on the power gap. Military power is in a state of continuous evolution and no longer depends solely on traditional components. This shift is reflected in the development of operational doctrines within the context of warfare and the transformation of the nature of war into smart warfare. The United States stands as the leading power in the field of military artificial intelligence, followed by China, while Russia has limited its advancements in military AI to certain specific areas, as its modernization efforts have largely focused on its traditional military capabilities.