New Thinking and American Defense Technology. Second Edition.
Abstract
The national security of the United States is and will remain heavily dependent on the wise application of the nation's impressive scientific and technological capability. But political, economic, and technological changes are occurring in the world that call for creative adaptation by government if it is to continue to make effective use of science and technology for the nation's security: The momentous political changes in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe in the wake of 'new thinking' in the Soviet Union are replacing the monolithic Eastern bloc military threat, to which American defense technology has been directed for almost half a century, with a more complex, variegated, and uncertain threat. Technology will be one of the nation's chief hedges against the uncertainties of the future. At the same time, American dominance of virtually all fields of technology and especially defense technology during the postwar period is giving way to a position of first among equals. The Department of Defense consequently must learn how to share in technological advance wherever it takes place, whether in the nondefense sector or in other countries. Finally, the Department of Defense has increasing difficulty in selecting, procuring, and managing the technology upon which it depends.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 01, 1993
- Accession Number
- ADA339180