Technology and the Military Reform Debate

Most military experts agree that the development of new technology must be encouraged in the interest of national security. Some of the most important determinants of design success--the effects of political pressures on weapons programs. Chief among them--are not discussed. Nonetheless, the US can improve its ability to get the most from its military technologies. If we can conduct productive debates on operational concepts and doctrine, keep operational tradeoffs in mind, and introduce more flexibility and competition into our system acquisition planning process, we can expect slightly better decisions about what technologies are appropriate for a particular weapon and when to incorporate them. Project examples are cited.