The U.S Deputy Secretary of Defence stated that the military would continue to be the leader in using unmanned robotic technology despite cost cutting measures of $ 400 billion in the defence budget. William Lynn, the Deputy Secretary, added that the Pentagon would continue to lead in the cyber security and long-range target striking using missiles, electronic attacks and aircraft.
The Pentagon is in the process of reassessing the long-range spending plans in order to meet the long term budget cuts being implemented by the President’s Office. Lynn regarded areas such as the unmanned robotic technologies as new and promising areas and is of the opinion that they should not be slapped with budget cuts. He would be briefing the next steps by the military in the dinner organised by the U.A. Aerospace Industries Association. Companies like Lockheed martin, Stealth Technologies, Boeing Group, Northrop Grumman and Raytheon would be attending the dinner meet.
Lynn compared this to the aftermath of the Vietnam war where The US invested in stealth technologies despite a cut in the defense budget. These technologies play a big role in helping aircrafts reduce their radar signature, thereby, minimising the chances of being spotted by the adversaries. The jet-fighter aircrafts F-22 and F-35 built by Bethesda, which is a part of the Lockheed group, function as stealth airplanes. Apart from these systems, the military is looking at a budget of $197 million in 2012 to start working on a bomber that would be part of the long-range strike system family. Airplanes, missiles and planes that are capable of dis-engaging the enemy’s radar would be a part of this group. Lynn added that in future, the military needs to exercise more caution towards implementing cyber protection measures of confidential military information.
Source: http://www.bloomberg.com