An official website of the United States government
Here's how you know
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Home : Media : News : News Article View
NEWS | Nov. 8, 2021

Tech Advantage Critical to Prevail in Strategic Competition With China, DOD Official Says

By Terri Moon Cronk

WASHINGTON -- Technological capability on an ongoing basis is critical to the United States maintaining its edge against other nations, such as China, Michael Brown, director of the Defense Innovation Unit, said yesterday.

At the 2021 Aspen Security Forum in Washington, D.C., Brown discussed preserving the United States' technological edge and quickly getting new technology into the hands of U.S. warfighters.

Spotlight: Engineering in the DOD

"We need technological advantage to prevail in this strategic competition with China," the DIU director said. "For the military, that means that we've got to modernize faster. We [have] got to use more commercial technology."

Brown added that requirements in acquisition and budgeting must again work for the Pentagon. "I've been leading DIU for three years now, and what I see is [that] we're not going fast enough. We're not transforming at the scale that we need to make changes to address the threat with China."

Brown agreed that the human capital in the United States' volunteer force is extraordinary, citing earlier comments by Army Gen. Paul M. Nakasone, commander of U.S. Cyber Command, director of the National Security Agency, and chief of the Central Security Service. "What I've seen firsthand in terms of the capability and dedication to mission is phenomenal. It's impressive. We owe it to those [service] men and women to give them the best tools. We ought to have an incredible sense of urgency and impatience and courage to change those 60-year-old processes to give them the best so they have adequate tools to do their jobs, which is what's important to all of us to keep us safe," he said.

Spotlight: Science and Tech

"We're losing that [technological] edge, and we're losing it at a rapid rate," Brown said, adding that the United States needs a recommitment to science and technology. "It involves STEM talent. Where is our program to increase STEM talent? We need that in the military. And we need moonshots to inspire people, just like we had during the space race. We need that kind of resurgence of excitement about what we can do in science and technology, and how that's going to enable economic prosperity for the next 20, 30 or 40 years. China's doing that long-term thinking, and we have to, as well."

Investing in technology is something China has been doing, he said, and that's where well-paying jobs are. "That's why [China is] focused on creating the standards for industries for the next 10 or 20 years with what they call 'China's standards 2035,'" he said, noting that China wants to displace the United States, Canada, and all Western countries and companies with its own capabilities.

"We don't want to live in that world," Brown said.

It's important for the United States to not sit back and become complacent and think it has a corner on technology or innovation, he said.

"If we don't invest, if we don't have the right talent, if we're not focused on the fact that this is a tech race, we're not going to be happy with the outcome," Brown said.

CONNECT WITH USINDOPACOM
Facebook

Like Us
X
363,182
Follow Us

ENGAGE & CONNECT MORE WITH PACOM

                                                 

IN THE USINDOPACOM NEWS
Readout of Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III's Meeting With President Wesley Simina of the Federated States of Micronesia
Graphic intended for use as a placeholder for Statements and Press Releases without accompanying imagery.
March 22, 2024 - Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder provided the following readout...

AUKUS Trilateral Statement
Graphic intended for use as a placeholder for Statements and Press Releases without accompanying imagery.
March 22, 2024 - The Honourable Richard Marles MP, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, Australia; the Right Honourable Grant Shapps, Secretary of State for Defence, United Kingdom; and Lloyd J. Austin III, Secretary of Defense,...

U.S., India launch Exercise Tiger TRIUMPH 2024
Courtesy Photo
March 21, 2024 - Indian and U.S. combined armed forces began Exercise Tiger TRIUMPH 2024 with the arrival of amphibious transport dock ship USS Somerset (LPD 25), March 18 and an opening ceremony March 19.This is the third time U.S. and...

USACE: Ensuring Safety Every Step of the Way
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Japan Engineer District (USACE JED) is the premier Department of Defense (DoD) military construction (MILCON) agent in the Pacific, providing facilities-related design and construction work in Japan for all military services and agencies. With over 60 years of experience in designing and constructing facilities in Japan, JED possesses the experience in Japanese standards and specifications, regulations, construction practices, maintenance requirements, and culture needed to ensure facilities are built with the utmost safety and professionalism. Photo by Charles Maib.
March 21, 2024 - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Japan Engineer District (USACE JED) is the premier Department of Defense (DoD) military construction (MILCON) agent in the Pacific, providing facilities-related design and construction work...

THAAD Battery in Guam Successfully Completes Table VIII Evaluation
A Terminal High Altitude Area Defense launcher used by E-3 Air Defense Artillery THAAD Battery as part of their Table VIII certification in Dededo, Guam, March 13, 2024. The THAAD battery, equipped with a state-of-the-art missile defense system, is tasked with defending Guam against ballistic missile threats. (U.S. Army Photo by Maj. Trevor Wild)
March 21, 2024 - In a testament to readiness and operational excellence, Task Force Talon's E-3 ADA THAAD Battery conducted a Table VIII evaluation for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system stationed in Guam, March 11-15,...