Photo by Alan Radecki/U.S. Navy/Northrop Grumman via Getty Images
Industryweek 8577 Drone Launch G
Industryweek 8577 Drone Launch G
Industryweek 8577 Drone Launch G
Industryweek 8577 Drone Launch G
Industryweek 8577 Drone Launch G

Pentagon Worry: 'Our Technological Superiority is at Risk'

April 10, 2015
Officials said other countries are devoting efforts to creating precision-guided rockets and artillery that could possibly target biometric signatures, massive cyber warfare and systems that link soldiers with robotic weaponry.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. military is in danger of losing its technological advantage unless it invests in research and finds ways to build innovative weapons much faster, top officials said Thursday.

The Pentagon unveiled an initiative to streamline its bureaucracy and tap into technological breakthroughs in the private sector amid growing anxiety that American forces' longtime high-tech edge is slipping away.

The measures reflected "an overriding concern that our technological superiority is at risk," Frank Kendall, the Pentagon's chief weapons buyer, wrote in a report.

"Potential adversaries are challenging the U.S. lead in conventional military capability in ways not seen since the Cold War," wrote Kendall, who has dubbed the initiative "Better Buying Power 3.0."

The challenge stemmed from the nature of new technologies such as drones or micro-computing, which are much more accessible and available to other countries than in the past, officials said.

Officials this week described a future battlefield in which potential adversaries could counter America's traditional advantages in air or sea power. 

Although the reform initiative will help, Kendall said the key to maintaining the U.S. military's dominance was spending more money on research and development and attracting talented workers to oversee weapons programs.

"But at the end of the day, the fundamental driver on how fast we can modernize is how much money we spend and on the quality of the people out there doing the work . . .," he said. 

And if the government failed to adequately fund research and development, "you will not have a future weapons system."

Potential automatic budget cuts, which Congress has imposed on the entire federal budget, could severely undermine vital research and the time lost carried its own cost, Kendall said.

In the meantime, adversaries were investing in new weapons.

"Time is not recoverable. And if I don't do research, I have to do it later and take the time to do it," he said.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2015

Popular Sponsored Recommendations

Empowering the Modern Workforce: The Power of Connected Worker Technologies

March 1, 2024
Explore real-world strategies to boost worker safety, collaboration, training, and productivity in manufacturing. Emphasizing Industry 4.0, we'll discuss digitalization and automation...

3 Best Practices to Create a Product-Centric Competitive Advantage with PRO.FILE PLM

Jan. 25, 2024
Gain insight on best practices and strategies you need to accelerate engineering change management and reduce time to market. Register now for your opportunity to accelerate your...

Transformative Capabilities for XaaS Models in Manufacturing

Feb. 14, 2024
The manufacturing sector is undergoing a pivotal shift toward "servitization," or enhancing product offerings with services and embracing a subscription model. This transition...

Shifting Your Business from Products to Service-Based Business Models: Generating Predictable Revenues

Oct. 27, 2023
Executive summary on a recent IndustryWeek-hosted webinar sponsored by SAP

Voice your opinion!

To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of IndustryWeek, create an account today!