Core Viewpoint - The Pentagon is secretly developing 25 new classified weapons to counter China, with a budget allocation exceeding $10.8 billion for the 2026 fiscal year under the "SHOTCALLER" program [1] Group 1: Budget and Funding - The U.S. Department of Defense has allocated over $10.8 billion (approximately 769.5 billion RMB) for the development of 25 classified weapons [1] - The "Advanced Innovative Technology" (AIT) project, a major component of "SHOTCALLER," has requested $1.16 billion to continue the development of weapon prototypes, having previously received over $9.6 billion in funding [1] Group 2: Project Management and Objectives - The "SHOTCALLER" project is managed by the Pentagon's Strategic Capabilities Office, which operates directly under senior Pentagon leadership [1] - The core objective of the AIT project is to create a seamless "kill chain" that integrates long-range firepower, space-based mobile target data, and joint operations across multiple military branches to ensure rapid and overwhelming strikes in future conflicts [1]

Core Insights - The Pentagon is secretly developing 25 new classified weapons to counter China, with over $10.8 billion allocated for this initiative named "SHOTCALLER" [1][3] - The "Advanced Innovative Technology" (AIT) project is the largest component of "SHOTCALLER," requesting $1.16 billion for ongoing development of weapon prototypes [3] - The project aims to establish a seamless "kill chain" integrating long-range firepower and multi-service joint operations to ensure rapid overwhelming strikes in future conflicts [3] Funding and Management - The AIT project has previously received over $9.6 billion in funding, covering various projects of different scales [3] - The "SHOTCALLER" project is directly managed by the Pentagon's Strategic Capabilities Office, allowing for rapid prototype testing across multiple military branches [3] Project Details - The projects under "SHOTCALLER" have symbolic code names such as "Asgard" and "Black Marlin," with some like "Hurt Locker" and "Pele" having received hundreds of millions in funding in previous years [3] - New projects like "Lazarus" and "Legend" are expected to accelerate development in the fiscal year 2026 [3] Strategic Context - The Pentagon's efforts are aimed at addressing shortcomings identified in previous operational experiments, preparing the U.S. military for "high-end conflicts" in the Indo-Pacific region [3]