Tech Industry Seeks Bigger Role in Defense. Not Everyone Is on Board.

WASHINGTON—Tech-industry leaders are pushing the Pentagon to adopt commercially developed technologies on a grand scale to counter the rise of China, an initiative that could transform the military and the multibillion-dollar defense-contracting business.

The Pentagon has long led the way in developing advanced technology that found its way into civilian applications, such as GPS and the internet. That balance has shifted, according to tech leaders and others. They contend that the private sector has more talent and greater research budgets than the government—and more advanced capabilities in artificial intelligence and cloud computing—all while the military grows more reliant on technology.