Cloned, genetically enhanced dogs may soon be produced for military, law enforcement
by Jason Swensen deseret news · KSL.comKEY TAKEAWAYS
- Warhound aims to produce genetically enhanced dogs for military and law enforcement.
- The startup combines cloning, genetics and advanced tech to improve service dogs.
- Ethical concerns arise due to cloning inefficiencies and potential harm to surrogate mothers.
SALT LAKE CITY — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has repeatedly called for a "fit not fat" testosterone-fueled American military.
The spirit of Hegseth's orders is apparently stretching into the K-9 ranks.
Warhound, a private defense tech startup conceived by entrepreneurs Ben Lamm and Palmer Luckey, recently announced it was aiming to modernize America's working-dog program by producing genetically enhanced dogs for military and law enforcement.
The new company is reportedly being funded by a $200 million seed round.
Lamm is the founder of Colossal Biosciences, a biotech company that's claimed headlines for its aim to bring back extinct species such as the woolly mammoth and the dodo.
Luckey's Anduril, meanwhile, develops military tech such as AI-powered drones and missiles. Luckey was also recently appointed to co-lead Hegseth's "Project Meridian" with former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich and entrepreneur Elon Musk. The trio are tasked with studying the future of warfare.
Warhound promises to deliver a "vertically integrated" K-9 program combining cloning with "best-in-class training and animal care," according to the company's release. All of the genetically enhanced dogs will also reportedly be equipped with Anduril's advanced cybernetic software.
The new "super dog" startup will splice Colossal's genetics and biological cloning with Anduril advanced defensive tech in hopes of producing dogs better suited for challenging military and law enforcement missions.
Service dogs often risk their lives to detect explosives, protect troops and engage in dangerous combat situations. But the U.S. military and law enforcement continue to rely upon dated breeding and training practices. As a result, many service dog candidates never make it through the rigorous screening process, according to the Warhound release.
"We have an opportunity to fundamentally change that," said Lamm. "Colossal has spent years pioneering breakthroughs in genetics, cloning, and animal biology, and now we're applying that science to give these dogs the best possible chance at a long, healthy life and a successful mission."
Man's best friend, added Luckey in the Warhound release, "deserves man's best tech."
Service dogs have worked alongside American military troops for decades. Today, the Defense Department's Military Working Dog Program reportedly consists of more than 2,200 working dog teams being utilized for critical missions.
But most of America's military dogs are, well, immigrants. More than 80% are from Europe — "creating a critical interdependency on foreign nations for an asset the Pentagon itself calls irreplaceable," according to Warhound.
Attrition is another challenge in the military's K-9 ranks. Less than half of the dogs procured for the rigorous acquisition and training program are ultimately deemed fit for service.
Prioritizing humane military K-9 treatment
Animal welfare, according to Warhound, is central to the new program.
"By improving health, durability, and training success, Warhound will significantly reduce washouts, limit the number of dogs unnecessarily entering intensive training and enable safer, more effective missions," the company release noted.
"Technologies and therapeutics developed through the program will also be made available to all dogs and ultimately improve the health of all dogs, not only those serving alongside America's service men and women."
Warhound will reportedly operate under the guidance of the American Humane Society, which will certify its training programs while supporting the reunifications of retired military working dogs with their former handlers.
Ultimately, the company promises to improve the military service dog system by producing fewer dogs — but with a greater likelihood of selected animals remaining healthy, completing training and fulfilling missions.
The Warhound's dog-and-handler team will also integrate Anduril tech such as eye and ear protection to protect the dogs, their handlers and their units.
In a Warhound release, AHS President and CEO Robin Ganzert saluted the loyalty and life-saving courage of working dogs.
"What excites me about Warhound is the opportunity to make health, welfare, and exceptional care fundamental to a working-dog program from the very beginning. Success means helping these dogs thrive throughout their lives — from training and active service to the loving, dignified retirement every canine hero deserves."
But while experts agree the science behind Warhound's "super dog" project is possible, it's also reportedly prone to error and inefficiencies. And, according to a Scientific American report, "a slew of ethical concerns."
Research has shown that cloning service dogs produces puppies that have many of the same desirable traits. But the process can be harmful, Lisa Moses, a veterinarian and bioethicist at Harvard University, told Scientific American.
The rate of successful live offspring remains low among the cloned dogs, and the process can put the surrogate mother in danger.
"It is by no means a perfect science, and by that, I mean it's still a fairly inefficient process," Moses said. "It requires a lot of dogs to have invasive things done to them and to be killed in order to produce one cloned puppy."
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