A Comparison of U.S. Responses to Unexpected Technology Breakthroughs

Abstract

The United States has a history dating back to the American Civil War of responding to perceived technology weaknesses, gaps, or unexpected technology breakthroughs. In each case an organization was formed and processes created to try and mitigate an adversary?s technology lead or close the gap. This essay examines three of the more successful responses to unexpected technology breakthroughs and gaps: the National Defense Research Committee (NDRC) during World War II, the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) from the Cold War and the Joint Improvised Explosive Devise Defeat Organization (JIEDDO) from Operation Iraqi Freedom. These three organizations faced similar challenges in terms of resources, coordinating and integrating with military services, and developing a knowledge base of developing and available technologies. Recommendations are developed from these histories including the creation of a Joint Functional Command for Technology Development and ensuring that the military services use both a requirements pull and a technology push to develop new technologies.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 04, 2008
Accession Number
ADA498103

Entities

People

  • James V. Day

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Counter IED
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aircrafts
  • Civil War
  • Department Of Defense
  • Employment
  • Explosives
  • Fire Control Systems
  • Governments
  • House Of Representatives
  • Improvised Explosive Devices
  • National Security
  • Scientists
  • Second World War
  • United States
  • United States Government
  • Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
  • War
  • War Colleges

Readers

  • Military Science and Technology Research and Modernization.
  • Munitions and Ordnance Engineering
  • Systems Analysis and Design