Pentagon establishing ‘National Defense Science and Technology’ strategy: Memo – Breaking Protection Breaking Defense

WASHINGTON: The Pentagon’s research and growth business has started establishing a “National Defense Science and Know-how strategy” aimed at 14 crucial topic spots which include hypersonic weapons, directed power and quantum science.

“Successful competitiveness calls for imagining our armed forces functionality as an at any time-evolving collective, not a static inventory of weapons in advancement or sustainment,” Heidi Shyu, the senior civilian in charge of exploration and engineering, wrote in a Feb. 1 memo acquired by Breaking Protection.

“In several conditions, efficient level of competition rewards from sidestepping symmetric arms races and as a substitute will come from the inventive software of new concepts with rising science and technology,” she ongoing.

The new S&T technique will be educated by the 2022 National Defense Strategy and will “strengthen [the US military’s] technological superiority amidst a world wide race for technological gain,” in accordance to the memo.

The memo lays out 14 technologies the Pentagon considers crucial and destinations them into three broad types. The initially team is labeled as “seed locations of emerging opportunity” these as biotechnology, quantum science, foreseeable future era wireless technological know-how and highly developed components.

The second group is “effective adoption parts,” or in other terms, technological know-how currently out there in the industrial sector. Individuals capabilities include artificial intelligence and autonomy, integrated community system-of-methods, microelectronics, house technologies, renewable strength era and storage, sophisticated computing and computer software and human-equipment interfaces.

The third matter region is characterised as “defense-distinct areas” these types of as directed strength, hypersonic weapons and built-in sensing and cyber.

“The OUSD(R&E) will develop critical technologies, fast prototype them, and conduct
continual campaigns of joint experimentation to increase on these systems and provide
abilities,” Shyu wrote, using the acronym for her workplace, the business office of the undersecretary of defense for investigate and engineering.

Shyu also alludes to acquisition reforms, stating her workplace will aid variations to the Pentagon’s “resource allocation procedures and will go after novel mechanisms and alternative pathways to quickly subject technologies.”

The memo does not get into details of what all those reforms could possibly include, but the armed service and lawmakers have spent numerous hearings discussing acquisition reforms, recognized any range of distinctive solutions of contracting these types of as other transaction authority and frequently declare the want for the expert services to receive technological innovation extra immediately than it at the moment does.

Shyu’s memo also does not set any timeline for the tactic, or the resulting changes, to consider place.

“By concentrating initiatives and investments into these 14 essential technologies regions, the Section will accelerate transitioning crucial abilities to the armed service services and combatant commands,” in accordance to Shyu. “As the Department’s engineering method evolves and technologies alter, the Division will update its critical technological know-how priorities.”