Article

October 2003

Air Force Technology Programs Need Steady Funding, Support

by Susan Rietze

Air Force science and technology budgets are slightly on the rise, but the funding still is not adequate to satisfy current demands and emerging requirements, said a panel of researchers.

A report by the National Research Council, entitled, “Effectiveness of Air Force Science and Technology Program Changes,” points out that Air Force science and technology programs are under-financed, lack a competent workforce and demand better visibility in order to keep funding and interest levels high.

U.S. involvement in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom prompted funding cuts in the areas of science, technology, research, development, testing and engineering. Both readiness and modernization priorities compete with science and technology for both resources and advocacy.

Constant reallocation of funds undermines science and technology projects, which need consistent funding to project future requirements and anticipate the needs for new technologies.

In the past, Air Force allocation for science and technology dollars has fluctuated, from an average of $2.1 billion a year during the 1980s to an average of $1.3 billion during the 1990s. Further, an unstable budget profile over the past 20 years makes program planning and execution virtually impossible, said the NRC study.

The 2002 Air Force science and technology budget was about $1.66 billion. This is half of what is considered ideal to support the service’s anticipated short- and long-term goals.

The council identified six long-term objectives: finding and tracking, command and control, controlled effects, rapid air and space response, effective air and space persistence.

Among the short-term goals are: target location, identification and tracking; command, control, communications, computers, intelligence (C4I); precision attack, space control, access to space, aircraft survivability and countermeasures, sustaining aging systems and air expeditionary force support.

Programs in applied research and advanced technology development constitute over 50 percent of the total science and technology budget. Of the $1.66 billion, $243.5 million is allocated for propulsion technology, $195 million for military satellite communications, $162.7 million for sensors, $123 million for air vehicles and $121.9 million for manufacturing.

Adding to the financial woes of Air Force science and technology programs, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration cut back its support of Air Force aeronautics by more than 40 percent in the last five years. The Air Force depends on the advances in information, nano-technology and biological sciences, historically gained in partnership with NASA.

Workforce
The council also expressed concern that the Air Force science and technology workforce cannot compete with the corporate market when it comes to recruiting personnel. Young scientists and engineers opt for the higher wages, better facilities and immediate employment offered in the private sector, as opposed to the long military approval process.

This has been a continuing problem for 15 years and will only worsen, said the study. The panel recommended that the Defense Department relax personnel policies, allowing laboratory directors more flexibility to shape their own workforce, as well as reconsidering requirements for civilian and military training programs.

The science, technology and engineering workforce needs a fresh new cadre of professionals who can inject innovation into the Air Force, the study said. It is also important for the Air Force to appoint mid- and senior-level officers in science and technology positions, who can effectively advocate for their programs.

The work of so-called “applied technology councils” could help enhance the visibility of science and technology throughout the Air Force.

Applied technology councils assist in the transition of technology from the research centers to appropriate weapon systems. There are five different ATCs within the Air Force—Air Combat Command, Air Mobility Command, Air Force Special Operations Command, Air Force Space Command and Air Force Material Command.

Future Capabilities
The Air Force, specifically, should boost investments in unmanned aircraft, small munitions, directed energy weapons, micro-satellites and the Joint Battlespace Infosphere information grid, said Donald C. Daniel, research professor with the Center for Technology and National Security Policy at the National Defense University. Daniel authored a paper titled, “The Air Force: Science, Technology and Transformation.”

Building a flight-worthy unmanned vehicle is no longer a significant challenge, according to Daniel. “However, building a fleet of such vehicles that can operate within the context of a modern airborne strike package certainly is.”

The Air Force is committed to internal carriage of munitions for all emerging aircraft (F/A-22, F-35 and UCAV), Daniel noted. “A key challenge is keeping aircraft size/weight to a minimum, as there is a direct relationship between size/weight and cost,” he said.

“Small munitions are essential for achieving minimum size and accomplishing the mission with high-performance aircraft. Small munitions also result in more individual weapons available per aircraft per sortie.”

The small diameter bomb is the first of the small munitions that will be available.

Additional small munitions technologies being developed also will lead to miniaturized air-launched missiles suitable for internal carriage in platforms similar to those for the small diameter bomb, Daniel explained. These munitions may be as small as 30 inches long and 8 inches in diameter. “Small munitions of this type may be particularly attractive for attacking mobile, time-critical targets.”

Directed-energy weapons of interest fall into two categories: high-energy lasers and high-power microwaves. Of the two, the research into high-energy lasers is more mature and approaching application.

Another form of directed energy that is being weaponized is “active denial.” This technology features a high-power millimeter wave device being developed for non-lethal applications. In addition, other future high-power microwave devices may have potential use from UCAV platforms, Daniel said.

Microsatellites (those weighing less than 100 kilograms) have the potential to transform military space activities and missions, he said. The potential benefits are multiple and include significantly lower cost to orbit, enhanced tactical flexibility for battlefield commanders and reduced vulnerability.

These small satellites could eventually replace larger ones that perform well-established missions (such as global positioning), and they will enable new missions in logistics, space control and multi-mission satellite clusters, according to Daniel.

The Joint Battlespace Infosphere is an information technology effort aimed at presenting effective battlefield data to decision makers at multiple levels. This involves a globally interoperable approach that aggregates, integrates, fuses and disseminates relevant information, Daniel said.

JBI can be envisioned as a federation of multiple servers, resting on a global grid and forming a virtual information space that all users and systems can easily tap (using open-standard protocols) to exchange information, he added. “JBI should be thought of as a framework of information science and technology, not a specific product.”

Susan Rietze is a cadet at the U.S. Air Force Academy, in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

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