In the game at the present time,all the Major Powers start with 5 Active Research Labs,which cost your Country in the region of 5 PPs per Tech Researched,that is 25 PPs more you could allocate where ever you see fit.
Areas of Research : Land,Artillery,Naval,Air & Armour.
Now lets assume when you start the game,it is you, who makes the decision where to spend your Countries PPs.[;)]




