The Department of Defense Critical Technologies Plan for the Committees on Armed Services United States Congress

Abstract

The second Annual Defense Critical Technologies Plan responds to the requirement that the Secretary of Defense submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and House of Representatives an annual plan for developing the technologies considered by the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Energy to be the technologies most critical to ensuring the long- term qualitative superiority of the United States weapon systems. The report selects 20 critical technologies. The selection process is described, criteria for selection are set forth, and industrial and international assessments are summarized. The major portion of this report is contained in 20 sections in Appendix A, one section for each critical technology. Each section addresses the questions posed by Congress on funding, plans and milestones, industrial base and manufacturing issues, and the competitiveness of US industry; it also provides an assessment of the positions of the Soviet Union, NATO, Japan and other industrialized countries in niche technologies within each critical technology. Keywords: Semiconductors; Microelectronics; Computer programs; Computerized architecture; Artificial intelligence; Robotics; Computerized simulation; Photonics; Radar; Sensors; Signals; Signatures; Weapon systems; Data fusion; Fluid dynamics; Air breathing engines; Pulsed power; Hypervelocity projectiles; High density; Materials; Composite materials; Superconductivity; Biotechnology.