Mark Esper, Secretary of the U.S. Army, said in an interview the service branch wants to allocate significant funding into science and technology efforts to reach its readiness goals by fiscal year 2022, Defense News reported Tuesday.
He noted that the Army is making progress with 31 programs under the established Futures Command in line with the service’s modernization strategy developed in 2018. He added that one of the Army’s challenges includes developing a network using commercial software that is mobile and reliable.
In terms of funding, Esper said he’s “hopeful and optimistic†that Congress will earmark funding for technological reforms given the bipartisan support the Army has been receiving for its modernization efforts. He also wants to focus on talent management and strengthening industry partnerships during his tenure.