DOD looks to innovate despite budget woes
Post-war R&D is beginning to shift to future conflicts, leaders say.
Defense Department leaders are looking for new ways to push the technology envelop as post-war military spending flattens, reports Amber Corrin of system publication FCW.
At key offices like the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, leaders are looking for new ways to innovate as R&D budgets decline. DARPA Director Arati Prabhakar told the Defense One Summit in Washington on Nov. 14 that the agency is shifting its focus from projects like speeding data delivery to the battlefield to technology requirements for future conflicts.
"Some of it is what we would think of as conventional requirements, working to get that capability to the warfighter as fast as possible," Prabhakar said. "Some of it is looking into [the next generation] and stepping through to what's on the other side. We have to continue to push the technology frontier. That is literally our job."