Jump to content

10 technologies the US military will need for the next war


CV32

Recommended Posts

From National Defense

 

[excerpt]

 

10 Technologies the U.S. Military Will Need For the Next War

November 2011

By Eric Beidel, Sandra I. Erwin and Stew Magnuson

 

Throughout U.S. history, advances in military capability have been fueled by innovation. All branches of the military consistently have managed to use technology in new and creative ways to gain an edge over the enemy.

 

CV32: See how many, if any, you agree with.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This article leaves me with the odd feeling that the reporters have carefully studied the issue, probably even talked to a few operators, and yet somehow still managed to miss the point ... :huh:

 

Yeah, I'd have to agree. Only # 3 (Inventions That Lighten The Soldier's Load), # 7 (Anytime Anywhere Communications), and #10 (Persistent ‘Wide Area’ Surveillance) struck me as having real, immediate value while also being within the realm of potentially achievable without breaking the bank (maybe).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

I see many new exotic flavors of the month. I'll run down this list and add my 2 cents....

 

1. Already done, probably, see OBL raid and the tail rotor of the crashed aircraft.

 

2. Been there and done that. Useful for OOTW and police operations. You can be a policeman or a soldier.

 

3. Isn't this Future Warrior?

 

4. Maybe....when we occupy Iran

 

5. Already done

 

6. Isn't this the LCS?

 

7. Can probably agree there. Iridium is a good system but I don't know how capable it is for Video and other 4G kinda stuff

 

8. I think we need to spend more time on secure datalinks that can't be hijacked. Please see recent RC-170 episode.

 

9. yeah right....good luck. I'm sure big oil will get right on that.

 

10. We already have the capability for nuclear launch warning from the fUSSR. How come we can't have stationary geosynchronous reconnaissance satellite?

 

A few things I think the list could use:

 

1. A high speed [hypersonic] land attack weapons family using a modular family of warheads [including a WMD payload] with a range similar to TLAM.

 

2. A very long range, conventionally armed ICBM type weapon launched from CONUS with good accuracy and penetration capability to go places where #1 can't.

 

3. A family of fixed wing, carrier launched aircraft that can provide ASW, ELINT, Tanker, and Special Forces support [in short, an S-3 type aircraft that guys can do HALOs from].

 

4. Smaller, and more numerous aircraft carriers to back up the big boats for lower priority conflicts [such as in Africa].

 

5. Cheap, long range stealth bombers [to keep the Air Force in business]

 

6. Real time offboard targeting

 

7. A variable yield EMP weapon to provide for local, regional, and national scale attacks.

 

8. New SP artillery [for the Army]

 

9. A new class of SSKs [yes, that's a K] for the USN.

 

10. Most importantly, a complete and total overhaul of the procurement process. To include non-US suppliers and remove the priority that US based suppliers get. The idea is to force US suppliers to become more competitive and to move away from the cultural idea that a government contract is a license to print money. This isn't just a US problem either.

 

Later

D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Most importantly, a complete and total overhaul of the procurement process. To include non-US suppliers and remove the priority that US based suppliers get. The idea is to force US suppliers to become more competitive and to move away from the cultural idea that a government contract is a license to print money. This isn't just a US problem either.

 

Accomplishing this single objective would probably do more to act as an enabler for the rest of the 'needs' and 'wants' than any other. But we all know its a tall order.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The solution, as I see it, is two fold:

 

1. A fundamental change in the way that military operators think when conducting business. Start acting like a consumer instead of thinking "it's not my money, why should I care?".

 

2. Vendors need to think of the military as a consumer and not as a license to print money.

 

3. Make the bureaucratic process more accountable, to the same extent that operators are.

 

4. Change the Bureaucratic Process to remind them of their job to support the operator as opposed to fighting over rice bowls or themselves.

 

5. Recruit managers for the bureaucracy that will streamline the process and give them the clout to enforce it. In short, give them a job to fix the system that they so dearly hate.

 

Accomplishing this isn't going to be easy and will probably more than a bit painful. Firing a few people [permanent people with clout, not casual or contract employees] will probably help with the transition. It will also get the point across that times are a'changing.

 

It will also probably never happen.

 

Later

D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...