The $146-million program in materials and structures technology has been guided by two TCPs for the past year and a half. A TCP now in preparation covers the $103-million environmental sciences program. The programs in chemical- and biological-warfare defense technology are conducted under single component management. These are some examples from the materials field: The use of an advanced graphite-fiber composite material for aircraft landing-gear applications has been under investigation. This material has now been successfully tested in portions of the landing gear of an A-37B airplane. Weight savings of 40 percent are predicted for a complete landing-gear assembly, as compared with current metal gear. Improved fatigue and corrosion resistance also will be achieved. The DNA's creation of the Advanced Missile Materials Research (AMMRES) Group, with a membership of Army, Navy and Air Force representatives, effectively forms a coordination body for all missile-materials R&D by the Department of Defense. 9.5.6 University Research: The leading edge of our nation's science effort is pushed forward principally by our universities. In the past the DoD has been able to avail itself of a share of the competence and productivity of our best university scientists. It must continue to do so if we are to maintain world leadership in military technology. We must fund research efforts relevant to our needs, and 9-18 ve must maintain full two-way communication with scientists in our universities. I believe we are solving the problem of doing these things in ways compatible with both our national security needs and the objectives and procedures of the academic community. problems remain. Still, some Most of our university work is directly funded by the military sciences budget elements, and, as this program has been decreased by congressional action, our support of work at our universities has necesFrom FY 1970 to FY 1972, we reduced the number of sarily diminished. work units in universities by 26 percent, reflecting a decrease of $18 million in funding support. FY 1973 is bringing further reductions, and I believe a point has been reached that may entail losses in our future military capabilities. Defense support of university research in FY 1973 is estimated by the National Science Foundation to be only 10.3 percent of the total support by the Federal Government--down from 15 percent in FY 1970. There are some inherent problems in managing a university research program for defense. The motivation of the academic researcher is, quite properly, the advancement of his science; our motivation is to increase our technical military capability--and it is sometimes difficult to reconcile these disparate objectives. In one attack on this problem, we have been examining in some detail the Joint Services Electronics Program (JSEP). This long-standing and highly productive program is an arrangement with nine leading universities that accounts for 25 percent of our $27-million 6.1 program in electronics. In our examination, we found that a few of the current programs, even if successful, would have little impact on our needs. These have been terminated or redirected. We also found that the coupling between the university laboratories and DoD laboratories had become somewhat ineffective. Consequently, we have taken steps to strengthen our procedures for program review and to increase the interaction between university and DoD scientists. Useful procedures developed during our new approach to the JSEP should be applicable to other areas of our basic research program. 10. DEFENSE ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECTS AGENCY 10.1 General In the past year, we established the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) as a separate Defense Agency. Heretofore, DARPA functioned as an integral part of the Office of the Director of Defense Research and Engineering. The change in organizational structure permits a clearer delineation of its functions and responsibilities. restored the full focus of DARPA's work to basic research and exploratory development and have put applied research and program management back into the Services. We have Technology is characterized by rapid change, with new opportuni ties arising from widely expanding knowledge. In this situation, it is important to invest part of our R&D resources at the leading edge of technology, to explore areas of high risk with a potentially high payoff. We find that a small, highly capable, flexible and independent organization is needed to conduct this type of activity, and we look to DARPA to fulfill this requirement. DARPA has the flexibility and capability to react quickly on items of new interest. Long-term commitments are not the rule in DARPA programs; rather, its function is to act as a leader and catalyst, demonstrating military potential as fast as possible. If a program undertaken by DARPA is successful, the findings are transferred to the Military Departments. In general, DARPA's programs emphasize research in areas that reach farther into the future than those normally undertaken by the Services and explore areas in which the technology is not well in hand. |