Arlington, VA, January 13, 2000 —
The Air Force Association maintains that Air Force research and
development has declined too far over the last decade and that
key technologies may not be available to counter future threats
unless this trend is reversed.
"Desert Storm proved, and
subsequent conflicts like Kosovo have confirmed, that technology
provides a dependable way to counter high-risk threats," a
newly released report says. "The question is whether, when
they are needed, those technologies will be available in the
future."
The Air Force Association Special
Report, titled "Shortchanging
the Future: Air Force Research and Development Demands
Investment," was produced by AFA’s Science and Technology
Committee, chaired by Gen. Lawrence A. Skantze, USAF (Ret.), a
former commander of Air Force Systems Command.
Among the report’s findings is the
fact that Air Force spending on science and technology, which
was the highest among the three services in 1989, is today in
third place, behind S&T spending by the Navy and the Army.
And reductions in S&T spending are not just an Air Force
problem. "The Department of Defense as a whole has also
consciously reduced S&T funding in the mistaken belief that
industry would fill in the gap," the report says.
The Air Force Association has
consistently called for a robust research and development
program that includes basic research. AFA has also strongly
maintained that the Department of Defense budget needs to be
increased.
According to AFA’s 2000 Statement
of Policy, "After the Cold War, we entered a ‘strategic
pause,’ when no real challenge to US military superiority was
foreseen and when operational pressures on the force were
expected to lessen. This was to be our chance, despite a smaller
defense budget, to make orderly investments in R&D and force
modernization. As it turned out, the budgets did not cover
current operations, and the investments in future capability
got short shrift."
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FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Stephen P. Aubin, AFA Director of Policy and Communications
(703) 247-5850; e-mail: saubin@afa.org or
Michael S. Moore, AFA Chief of Policy and Research
(703) 247-5847; e-mail: mmoore@afa.org
The Air Force Association is an independent, non-profit,
civilian aerospace organization whose objective is to promote
greater understanding of the role aerospace power plays in
national defense. AFA is a grass-roots organization with a
membership of 150,000. The Air Force Association was incorporated
in the District of Columbia on February 4, 1946.
