The recent completion of the Technology Horizons review and subsequent formulation of well-defined science and technology priorities come at an important juncture for the Air Force, says Werner Dahm, the service’s chief scientist. Prior to Technology Horizons, the service had not conducted a thorough scrub of its science and technology activities in more than 15 years, he told reporters Wednesday in the Pentagon. Yet the Air Force—and Defense Department overall—now faces three leading trends that make having a technology vision all the more critical, he said. First, the global strategic picture is shifting, with the US still as the sole superpower, but facing several rising powers. Second, more countries are gaining access to advanced technology—or developing it themselves. Third, budget pressures are likely to increase in coming years, impacting resources available for research, he said. (See Air Force Technology Plan Unveiled above)
The White House announced its United States Space Priorities Framework in a document released concurrently with Vice President Kamala Harris' first National Space Council meeting. Listed among five U.S. priorities is to “defend its national security interests from the growing scope and scale of space and counterspace threats.”