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United States Defense Department must boost modernization of weapons to improve its capabilities.
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Defence & Security News - United States
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| United States Defense Department must boost modernization of weapons to improve its capabilities. | |||
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This year, the Defense Department will move aggressively to reverse the trend of chronic underinvestment in weapons and capabilities, the deputy defense secretary said here today.Bob Work spoke this morning about defense modernization and the department’s proposed fiscal year 2016 budget before an audience attending the McAleese/Credit Suisse Defense Programs Conference. (By Cheryl Pellerin U.S. DoD News, Defense Media Activity)
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 Deputy Secretary of Defense Bob Work speaks at the McAleese/Credit Suisse Defense Programs Conference held at the Newseum in Washington, March 17, 2015. Photo by Air Force Master Sgt. Adrian Cadiz |
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The bottom line, he said in prepared remarks, is that “because of budget uncertainty and restrictions imposed by Congress, and because of our unrelenting focus on the readiness of forward deployed forces, we're chronically underinvesting in new weapons and capabilities.”
Work added, “That should give all of us pause because our technological dominance is no longer assured.” The U.S. military’s technological superiority is directly related to its modernization accounts, the deputy secretary said, so this year the department is moving to redress the long-deferred modernization to stay ahead of competitors and potential aggressor nations. Work said the White House has helped by approving about $21 billion in added requirements over the Future Years Defense Program. “This came with added funding, which has allowed us to make targeted investments in space control and launch capabilities, missile defense, cyber, and advanced sensors, communications, and munitions -– all of which are critical for power projection in contested environments,” he said. The White House also added funding to help the department modernize its aging nuclear deterrent force, Work said. In some areas, he added, “we see levels of new weapons development that we haven’t seen since the mid-1980s, near the peak of the Soviet Union’s surge in Cold War defense spending.” The department, Work said, is addressing the erosion of U.S. technological superiority through the Defense Innovation Initiative, a broad effort to improve business operations and find innovative ways to sustain and advance America’s military dominance for the 21st century. “The DII’s leading focus is to identify, develop and field breakthrough technologies and systems,” he said, “and to develop innovative operational concepts to help us use our current capabilities in new and creative ways.” The ultimate aim is to help craft a third offset strategy, he added. |
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