The anticipated operational environment of 2040 will contain new and complex global threats the U.S. Army will be required to address. The Army must possess strategic land power dominance to effectively combat these threats. As the preeminent land force of the United States, the Army must possess the capability to conduct prompt, sustained and synchronized operations across the broad range of military maneuvers in cross-functional domains: air, ground, maritime, space and cyber space.
Maintaining technological superiority will depend on a culture that facilitates innovation and collaboration. Creating such a culture requires synchronization and unity of effort among all members of the science and technology community -- government laboratories, academic institutions, and the private sector and our allies -- an S&T Ecosystem.
Just as globalization connects people and cultures around the world, the S&T Ecosystem will do the same; connecting ideas, researchers, industry and academia throughout the United States and around the world. This S&T Ecosystem is the means through which the U.S. will establish and maintain decisive overmatch and technological advantage over today's challenges and those in 2025 and beyond.
Building the S&T Ecosystem begins with RDECOM's six research development and engineering centers (RDECs) and the Army Research Laboratory (ARL). Our six engineering centers conduct basic and applied research in armament, aviation & missile, tank automotive, communications & electronics, chemical & biological, and individual Soldier technologies. Combined, these efforts account for 74 percent of the Army's S&T budget.
RDECOM cannot accomplish the mission alone. RDECOM has more than 1,000 agreements with industry and 500 Department of Defense laboratories. ARL, the Army's sole fundamental research laboratory, is leading an Open Campus Initiative to enable Army scientists and researchers to work in tandem with research partners in industry and academia, either at their locations or in RDECOM facilities. RDECOM has more than 1,500 agreements with other institutions in the academic community.
The efforts of RDECOM expand to the Joint Community through efforts such as the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle and chemical biological programs. In support of the nation, RDECOM has leveraged the capabilities of the S&T Ecosystem to provide science and technology support to the Department of Homeland Defense.
To foster a greater understanding of artificial intelligence research and other emerging research areas, RDECOM opened ARL West in April 2016, at the University of Southern California. Part of the Open Campus Initiative, ARL West strategically places Army researchers on the west coast and provides RDECOM the opportunity to interface with the unique talent, technical centers and universities in that region. With 85 percent of the country's engineers located in the eastern United States, establishing relationships in the west expands our knowledge base of ideas and experiences.
The interface between the RDECs, ARL, industry and academia creates a diversified hub and spoke infrastructure that continues to expand across the county. However, the S&T Ecosystem is not only a United States phenomenon.
In addition to a robust, stateside presence, RDECOM's S&T Ecosystem also has overseas elements. The command's three overseas hubs -- RDECOM Americas, Atlantic, and Pacific -- provide a forward presence that allows RDECOM to engage in basic research at international technology centers along with our international partners. These international efforts are critical in building and maintaining theater partnership capacity and allow us to use soft form of power to cultivate relationships in every region of the globe. Through the efforts of the forward elements, RDECOM has technology agreements with 27 countries, to include: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Japan, and Singapore.
Of critical importance within the S&T Ecosystem is ensuring that activities are aligned with designated S&T priorities. RDECOM executes requirements that originate from priorities established at the Army and national levels. Such requirements include: developing capabilities to maintain overmatch, prototyping/technology maturation initiatives, Chief of Staff Modernization Focus areas such as missile defense and autonomy, and DOD priorities such as protecting the network and biotechnology.
The knowledge and capabilities residing in the S&T Ecosystem has resulted in RDECOM's management of five of the eight Presidential Innovation Initiatives on behalf of the DOD. These initiatives are: digital manufacturing & design, integrated photonics manufacturing, flexible hybrid electronics, revolutionary fibers & textiles, and robotics in manufacturing environments.
The idea of an S&T Ecosystem is not new. In 1945, Dr. Vannevar Bush, an American engineer, inventor and science administrator, headed the U.S. Office of Scientific Research and Development during World War II, and produced a report to the President (Science, The Endless Frontier). The ideas in the report evolved into the model for how the United States would pursue its scientific endeavors. Bush stressed the necessity of a robust and synergistic university, industry, and government laboratory research system.
University and industry research capabilities evolved with changing research and economic environments. For example, research at large industry laboratories shifted from open-ended problem solving to short-term commercial ventures. The pace of technological change from 1990 to the present far exceeds the pace observed from 1950-1990, and we can expect the pace to continue to increase in the near-term. We must return to our roots to meet the future pace of evolving technology.
Global technological advancement requires creative forward thinking and bold solutions. "Robust investment in S&T underpins technological advances in our military capabilities and is vital to maintaining technological superiority," said General Milley, the Army Chief of Staff, as he emphasized the importance of technology.
The chief's remarks amplify the thoughts of Honorable Eric Fanning, Secretary of the Army.
"Tomorrow's Army depends on its success in exploiting the best technology today. As global threats evolve, the Army must accelerate its own capabilities in areas like cyber, electronic warfare and protecting our communication networks. Today, and in the future, our Army depends on maintaining a technological edge over our adversaries," he said.
Efforts to operationalize and align RDECOM with the mission command efforts of the Army Materiel Command has postured RDECOM as the undisputed leader in developing future capabilities for the Army.
The time to accelerate technology is now.
The S&T Ecosystem will enable the understanding of technology viewpoints, optimize innovation, invention and modernization, consider multi-use capabilities and repurposing, better define requirements, and prototype, experiment, and model more effectively. The sum, obviously, is much greater that its parts.
Leveraging and building on the advantages of the S&T Ecosystem will place RDECOM in a position to ensure decisive overmatch against adversaries today, tomorrow, in 2025 and beyond.
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The U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command has the mission to ensure decisive overmatch for unified land operations to empower the Army, the joint warfighter and our nation. RDECOM is a major subordinate command of the U.S. Army Materiel Command.
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