Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work has said the Defense Department has started to invest in combat teaming and human-machine collaboration as part of the third offset strategy, DoD News reported Sunday.

Work told the Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley, California that the strategy seeks to combat national security threats through conventional deterrence, Cheryl Pellerin writes.

He told the audience that the strategy is based on Long-Range Research and Development Program and Defense Science Board Summer Study on Autonomy efforts.

Work also cited learning machines, machine-aided human operations and autonomous weapons as the three other building blocks of the third offset strategy apart from human-machine collaboration and combat teaming efforts, Pellerin reports.

“You also want operational and organizational constructs that give you an advantage and an offset against your adversaries, who might outnumber you,” he said.

“The No. 1 advantage we have is the people in uniform and our civilian workforce and our defense industrial base and the contractors who support us.”