The National Security Act of 1947, as amended (50 USC Sec. 401), which provided for the organization of the Department of Defense, vested the overall direction and control of defense research and engineering in the Secretary of Defense. The objective of the DoD science and technology program is to develop and transition options for affordable, decisive military capability based on superior technology. Military needs determine what aspects of science and technology the Department of Defense pursues, and with what priority.
The purposes underlying DoD's science and technology investment are to: maintain technological superiority of US forces; provide the basis for new capabilities and new missions such as regional conflicts and countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction; enable force drawdown without loss in operational capability; develop the technological basis for force multipliers for use by smaller forces; achieve higher readiness through more efficient execution of training and ensuring an adequate Science and technology infrastructure to meet emerging demands and for future mobilization.
The Department of Defense strategy places highest priority in its science and technology investments on those areas that help maintain technological superiority in Joint warfighting capabilities identified by Joint Chiefs of Staff. The Joint Staff and the Joint Requirements Oversight Council have identified five Future Joint Warfighting Capabilities most needed by the U.S. Combatant Commands. Those needs, coupled with technological opportunity, guide DoD science and technology investment decisions. The five Joint Warfighting Capabilities are:
Five guiding management principles have been adopted by the military departments and defense agencies. These management principles are designed to place in the hands of our operational forces the best mix of capabilities possible, in the short and long term, by leveraging the best resources in DoD and the nation:
The Defense science and technology program is responsive to new threats, challenges, demands, and opportunities.
Reducing the continuing and new nuclear dangers that the world faces, responding with programs that build upon and enhance the strengths of the DoE complex and the national laboratories, and emphasizing commitments to environment, safety, and health, are the essence of the Department's national security role. The Department of Energy has five strategic goals:
The DoE plays a key role in verifying compliance with nuclear arms treaties. The Department provides support for the development and implementation of U.S. national security and foreign policies on nonproliferation and provides intelligence analyses of the nuclear capabilities of foreign countries, their potential for nuclear proliferation, and their possible support to nuclear terrorism. The Department prepares and executes a verification and control technology development program to enhance U.S. and international proliferation detection capabilities. These nonproliferation technologies also have significant potential to assist the DoD in its Counterproliferation mission.
The missions of the Technology Administration (TA) and the Bureau of Export Administration (BXA) are an important component of the CNS process not because of the Department's relatively small science and technology programs, but because of the Department's role in enhancing our national and economic security interests. The science and technology activities of the Department of Commerce are neither focused nor directly contributory to the specific national security focus areas of post Cold-War missions, building international security and preventing conflict, or weapons of mass destruction. Rather, Commerce's civilian technology efforts, in partnership with industry, are directed toward the overall health of the nation's industrial base.
Commerce's Advanced Technology Program (ATP) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology encourages U.S. business to conduct research on high-risk technologies with broad commercial applicability by providing matching funds. The Manufacturing Extension Partnership - expanded by the TRP funds, deploys current technologies to small and medium sized manufacturers. In a National Security Strategy which emphasizes using commercial technology where possible to benefit from the economies of commercial production and from private sector R&D which is outpacing federal efforts, the civilian technology efforts of the Department of Commerce take on a more important contributory role.
BXA is at the nexus of trade and high technology as it is the government's licensing agency for dual-use commodities and technical data, enforcing the Export Administration Act, particularly in technologies related to WMD and CBW. The BXA leads the Administration's efforts to adapt U.S. strategic trade policies and dual-use export controls to a rapidly changing global economic, and national security environment. As a complement to licensing and enforcement, BXA conducts in-depth industry assessments of technologies identified by the DoD as the most critical in the development of future weapons systems. This year, BXA completed technology and industry assessments of advanced ceramics, advanced composites, artificial intelligence, opto-electronics, and superconductivity. BXA's unique position, encompassing both trade and national security issues related to dual-use technologies, brings a valuable perspective to the CNS.
Diplomacy backed by a strong defense capability remains critical to U.S. interests. It represents the constant search for peace, stability, and prosperityùthrough patient and arduous negotiation, international cooperation, efforts to resolve local grievances and conflicts, and policies that promote economic growth. The relatively small amount of Government resources devoted to International Affairs programs, about one percent of the federal budget, is an essential investment in the nation's future.
The United States conducts diplomatic relations with more that 170 countries on a wide range of issuesùfrom business, communications, and technology exchange to urgent security matters. Diplomatic activities contribute in an important way to NSTC focus areas by:
In a broader sense, the IC also includes the intelligence units from the four branches of the armed forces and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, although these functions are funded under separate programs. The IC's mission encompasses all four NSTC Committee for National Security focus areas. IC components directly and indirectly support the National Military Strategy by providing information to policy makers and war fighters in pre-crisis, crisis and post-crisis situations through a variety of sources and methods. IC organizations provide intelligence reporting on a variety of post-Cold War missions, including peace operations, special operations, low-intensity conflict, counterterrorism, and counternarcotics. Relevant information is provided daily to policy makers by the CIA, DIA and NSA to support decisions relating to building international stability and preventing conflict. A Presidential policy directive has increased the priority assigned by the intelligence collection and analysis capabilities to the proliferation threat. In 1993, the Director of Central Intelligence established the Nonproliferation Center (NPC) to provide IC-level coordination for community nonproliferation programs. IC components are focusing on closing the knowledge gaps related to the proliferation activities of several countries.
By mandate, ACDA is responsible for the conduct and coordination of arms control, nonproliferation and disarmament research, development and other studies conducted by or for other Government agencies including R&D for the detection, identification, inspection, monitoring, limitation, reduction, control and elimination of nuclear, missile, conventional, bacteriological, chemical and radiological weapons, nuclear testing. ACDA aggressively supports three of the four NSTC focus areas including new post-Cold War missions, building international stability and preventing conflict, and preventing and countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. ACDA's initiatives contribute to science and technology priority applications and/or enabling capabilities in the areas of information management, remote sensors, preventive diplomacy, intelligence collection and analysis, detection of weapons of mass destruction, conflict analysis and resolution, gaming and predictive data bases, arms control and nonproliferation, modeling and simulation, monitoring and verification, and implementation support and R&D coordination for arms control and nonproliferation regimes.
Both from a policy perspective and organizationally, NASA and DoD have in place the mechanisms to foster the coordination of technology programs and efficiently transfer information. The senior management coordination between DoD and NASA is conducted via the Aeronautics and Astronautics Coordination Board, which is co-chaired by the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Technology and the NASA Deputy Administrator, and has panels that deal with mutual interests in areas such as space transportation, spacecraft technology, and aeronautics.
Coordinated policy and planning documents have been developed by the Administration and between NASA and DoD on a range of activities including space launch technology and aeronautical technology. The intent of the planning documents is to ensure that the U.S. Government science and technology efforts do not overlap and that information is transferred efficiently between the agencies.
Thus, NASA science and technology programs do support the national military strategy, but it is in a contributory rather than a focused manner. Areas of common technology interest include remote sensing, communications and data networking systems, aeronautical systems, and propulsion systems.
NASA's major contributions to international stability are derived from its bilateral and multilateral international spacecraft programs which are directed toward the collection of scientific data. By their nature, these programs enhance stability by channeling engineering capabilities toward peaceful applications, reducing cultural barriers, and by establishing common goals and dependencies with our international partners.
The dominant portion of the funds associated with these
programs are directed toward the design, manufacture, test and
launch of the spacecraft, rather than for technology development.
The scientific data collected on these programs is typically
shared by the U.S. and its international partners.
Representative NASA international programs include the
International Space Station; the Space Shuttle/MIR missions,
Radarsat, the Tethered Satellite System, YOKOH, Topex/Poseidon,
Spacelab International Microgravity Laboratory, and the Earth
Observation System. NASA's international partners and
collaborators include the European, Italian, Japanese, Russian
and Ukrainian Space Agencies. Since the NASA investments in
these international programs are principally in the development
area, rather that in science and technology, the funds have not
been included in the science and technology estimates and
projections.
National Security - Table of Contents
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