Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has unveiled a new defense initiative that seeks to give the U.S. military an edge over potential adversaries in technological superiority, DoD News reported Saturday.
Cheryl Pellerin writes Hagel discussed the Defense Department‘s latest innovation strategy during a keynote address at the annual Reagan National Defense Forum held Saturday night in California.
He believes the agency needs to reform the way it operates and innovates in order to sustain military’s force projection capacity over the coming decades as well as address threats from other countries.
“If we make the right investments in our partnerships around the world in innovation and in our defense enterprise we will continue to keep our nation’s military and our nation’s global leadership on a strong and sustainable path for the 21st century,” Hagel told forum audience.
He added DoD will enlist help of industry and academic organizations to access modern platforms and shape technological frameworks amid the budget situation, according to Pellerin’s article.
DoD News reports Hagel has ordered a review of business and management practices across the department and implemented a Long-Range Research and Development Planning Program as part of the agency’s innovation plan.
The program is intended to identify, build and field new warfighting technology in the robotics, miniaturization, big data, three-dimensional printing and autonomous areas, according to the publication.
