To maintain its technological advantage and stay on the cutting edge of technology, the US must be willing to take risks in innovation and creative thinking, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said yesterday at a conference. Despite ongoing national security challenges and uncertainty in Ukraine, Belize, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and growing tension in the South China Sea, innovation challenges remain and must be addressed, he said.
In the US 2014 Quadrennial Defense Review and the US president’s fiscal 2015 budget request, Hagel explained, the US DoD prioritised key investments in submarines, cyber, next-generation fighter and bomber aircraft, missile defense, and special operations forces, putting a premium on rapidly deployable, self-sustaining platforms that can defeat more technologically advanced adversaries.
The Better Buying Power 3.0 initiative, Hagel explained, will strengthen DoD’s efforts to incentivise innovation in both industry and government while using more modular and open systems architectures, will provide industry with draft requirements earlier, will remove obstacles to procuring commercial items, and will improve technology search and outreach in global markets.
With 20% of DoD acquisition dollars devoted to small businesses, Hagel noted, niche areas within industry can be particularly vulnerable when production rates decline.
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In the US 2014 Quadrennial Defense Review and the US president’s fiscal 2015 budget request, Hagel explained, the US DoD prioritised key investments in submarines, cyber, next-generation fighter and bomber aircraft, missile defense, and special operations forces, putting a premium on rapidly deployable, self-sustaining platforms that can defeat more technologically advanced adversaries.
The Better Buying Power 3.0 initiative, Hagel explained, will strengthen DoD’s efforts to incentivise innovation in both industry and government while using more modular and open systems architectures, will provide industry with draft requirements earlier, will remove obstacles to procuring commercial items, and will improve technology search and outreach in global markets.
With 20% of DoD acquisition dollars devoted to small businesses, Hagel noted, niche areas within industry can be particularly vulnerable when production rates decline.