Civil-Military Integration and Chinese Military Modernization. Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, Volume 3, Number 9, December 2004
Abstract
Civil-military integration (CMI) is the process of combining the defense and civilian industrial bases so that common technologies, manufacturing processes and equipment, personnel, and facilities can be used to meet both defense and commercial needs. According to the U.S. Congressional Office of Technology Assessment, CMI includes: cooperation between government and commercial facilities in research and development (R&D), manufacturing, and/or maintenance operations; combined production of similar military and commercial items, including components and subsystems, side by side on a single production line or within a single firm or facility, and use of commercial off-the-shelf items directly within military systems. CMI can occur on three levels: facility, firm, and sector. Facilities can share personnel, equipment, and materials, and even manufacture defense and civilian goods side-by-side. Firm-level integration involves separate production lines but the joint military-civilian use of corporate resources (management, labor, and equipment). Finally, integrated industrial sectors (such as aerospace or shipbuilding) can draw from a common pool of research and development activities, technologies, and production processes. There are many potential benefits of CMI to military modernization efforts. Adapting already available commercial technologies to meeting military needs can save money, shorten development and production cycles, and reduce risks in weapons development. CMI can also improve the quality of military equipment and contribute to more efficient production and acquisition of military systems. Above all, CMI permits arms industries and militaries to leverage critical technological advances in sectors where the civilian side has clearly taken the lead in innovation, particularly information technologies (IT), such as communications, computing, and microelectronics.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 2004
- Accession Number
- ADA495828
Entities
People
- Richard A. Bitzinger
Organizations
- Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies