US lead in software and sensor technology IS an impact filter – bioterror, proliferation, conventional warfare

Maintain technological superiority in warfighting equipment. Technological superiority underpins our national military strategy, allowing us to field the most potent military forces by making best use of our resources, both economic and human. It is essential for the United States to maintain superiority in those technologies of critical importance to our security. Provide technical solutions to achieve the Future Joint Warfighting Capabilities. The Joint Chiefs of Staff have identified the warfighting capabilities most needed by our military in the future (see Future Joint Warfighting Capabilities"). Our S&T investment must be aimed at securing these needed capabilities. Balance basic research and applied technology in pursuing technological advances. Today's basic research lays the foundation for tomorrow's innovative development. To make possible the greatest range of options and avoid technological surprise, we must apply resources broadly at the basic research level and make further investment decisions as emerging technologies reveal the most promising payoff areas. Incorporate affordability as a design parameter. The cost of advanced technology systems must not be allowed to spiral upward uncontrolled. Affordability must be integrated into the design of military systems from the beginning, and improvements must be incorporated throughout their life cycle with the integration of new technology. Defense Research and Engineering The Defense Department science and technology program is organized to support the missions described in the National Security Strategy of Engagement and Enlargement. It is responsive to the warfighting requirements articulated by the Joint Chiefs of Staff as well as to the mission requirements of the military departments. The Director of Defense Research and Engineering is responsible for the direction, overall quality, and content of the Department of Defense science and technology program. Basic Research Fields of Inquiry Atmospheric and Space Science Biological and Medical Sciences Cognitive and Neural Sciences Computer Sciences Electronics Materials Science Mathematics Mechanics Ocean Sciences Physics Terrestrial Sciences The Department of Defense S&T program is organized into three categories: basic research, exploratory development, and advanced technology development. Basic research is the element of the S&T program that seeks to increase knowledge and understanding of science. It is the foundation on which future technological superiority is based. Twelve fields of inquiry, listed in the box at top right, compose the Defense Department's basic research program. The two other components, exploratory development and advanced technology development, make up the Defense technology program. This program is centered around the 19 technology areas listed in the box at lower right. The exploratory development program provides proof-of-concept experiments and evaluations built around models and laboratory experiments, while the advanced technology development program evaluates the effectiveness of technological advances in providing required military capabilities. In total, the three components that make up the program are highly interrelated, as sharp distinctions between research and development phases no longer apply. Technology Areas for Exploratory Development and Advanced Technology Development Aerospace Propulsion and Power Air Vehicles and Space Vehicles Battlespace Environments Biomedical Applications Chemical and Biological Defense Individual Survivability and Sustainability Command, Control, and Communications Computing and Software Conventional Weapons Electronics Electronic Warfare and Directed Energy Weapons Environmental Quality and Civil Engineering Human Systems Interface Manufacturing Science and Technology Manpower, Personnel, and Training Materials, Processes, and Structures Modeling and Simulation Sensors Surface/Under Surface Vehicles and Ground Vehicles The defense science and technology program is planned and conducted by the military services and Defense agencies. The Departments of the Army, Navy, and Air Force train and equip the military forces and use the S&T program to provide warfighting options for their service components. The defense agencies are responsible for specified cross-service aspects of the overall program and execute designated programs in support of national security objectives. The Advanced Research Projects Agency is charged with seeking breakthrough technology and with investing in technologies that are referred to as "dual use" because they have both defense and commercial applications. The Director of Defense Research and Engineering, in collaboration with the military departments and other Defense agencies, prepares the Defense Science and Technology Strategy and a technology plan which describes the focus and content of the overall Defense technology effort, including goals, objectives, and schedules. Priorities of the Department of Defense S&T Program Information technology, sensors, and modeling and simulation are high priority S&T programs in the Department of Defense. Information technology and sensors have the potential to dramatically improve all aspects of future military capabilities, while modeling and simulation have already made major contributions to training, readiness, weapons design, and acquisition management. Together, these technologies can significantly reduce combat losses in lives and equipment. Counterproliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction In early 1995 the Counterproliferation Program Review Committee, chaired by the Secretary of Defense and composed of the Secretary of Energy (as Vice Chair), the Director of Central Intelligence, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, conducted a comprehensive assessment of U.S. activities related to countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. As a result of this assessment, the Secretary of Defense has taken measures to significantly strengthen Department of Defense science and technology efforts in counterproliferation to address shortfalls in U.S. operational capability. Counterproliferation spans the spectrum of diplomatic activities and military operations. As a Department of Defense mission, it includes support of proliferation prevention and intelligence activities; deterring the use of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons; defending against such weapons and their effects; and maintaining a robust ability to find and destroy delivery forces and infrastructure elements with minimum collateral effects, should this become necessary. In 1995, Congress provided $60 million to "jump-start" the counterproliferation program within the Department of Defense, and the Administration has requested $108 million for 1996. These funds are being used to accelerate development and deployment of essential military counterproliferation technologies and capabilities and to leverage existing Department of Defense investments relating to countering proliferation. The Defense Department has placed increased emphasis on detection technology, with a goal of accelerating by six years the deployment of biological and chemical agent remote detection and characterization systems. In addition, it is accelerating development of a new generation of hard target defeat and collateral effects prediction and mitigation capabilities, with the goal of demonstrating them within the next two years. The Department of Defense is also accelerating important proliferation prevention efforts such as initial 1996 fielding of enhanced capabilities to track nuclear, biological, and chemical related foreign shipments. The Administration's continuing efforts in counterproliferation will focus on the identification and development of the most promising technologies for the detection and characterization of proliferation threats and for developing and providing capabilities to counter the spread of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons; their infrastructure; and associated delivery systems. Information technologies have changed the battlefield. They enable better performance of current platforms, weapons, sensors, and people. Today, electronics and software add capability to almost every complex system. Information technologies are the basis for continual improvements in communications; intelligence gathering, analysis, and distribution; precision strike capability; platform control; sensor data processing; and human performance. Our troops depend on accurate and timely battlefield information. The ability to collect, integrate, analyze, and deliver this information efficiently and rapidly is critical to battlefield advantage. And because of the amount of tactical information available, a principal challenge is processing the data into meaningful forms for battlefield decisionmaking. Beyond the battlefield, the management of enormous amounts of data related to logistic support is an increasingly important and demanding requirement. There is often too much administrative overhead associated with ensuring that equipment and supplies are on hand. Information technology programs offer the means to significantly reduce overhead and enhance efficiency by accounting for supplies via automated sensor and computer links. We are applying advanced computer software and systems and communication technology to the task of rapidly sorting through large quantities of data and presenting logistic specialists with information in ways that permit efficient operations and reduced errors. Technology is also needed to help ensure that no enemy can disrupt the information systems on which we depend.