APR 24, 2015
Q1: What are the fundamental changes in the high-tech world that have led Defense Secretary Ash Carter to work to “rewire” the Pentagon’s approach to innovation?
A1: Cutting-edge technological advances are being increasingly driven by commercial companies and by private investment. This is a world-wide phenomenon that means that high tech is both more commercial and more global than in the past. The share of global research and development (R&D) that is directed explicitly to the needs of the Department of Defense (DOD) is now 4 percent, a low point in the post–World War II era. Although sequestration has significantly hurt defense R&D, the trend predates sequestration, and it is largely caused by the private sector increasing its R&D spending in response to the demand for new technology in the global marketplace. This means that the preponderance of technology development, much of it with direct national security applications, is happening among firms that are not traditional suppliers to DOD and many of which are located overseas. Secretary Carter is seeking to tackle the challenge DOD faces in gaining awareness of and access to the technologies being developed by these firms.
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