Report on U.S. Military Power 2012 (12)

II. Weapons R&D and Procurement

There are three characteristics in terms of U.S. weapons R&D and procurement. First, upgrading of conventional weapons has been accelerated. In terms land operations systems, the R&D focuses on tactical command, communications, and individual combat systems. In terms of maritime operations systems, the R&D focuses on maritime platforms for air defense, anti-missile, land attack, and littoral operations. In terms of air operations systems, the R&D focuses on stealth, general-purpose, long-range strike, and operational support equipment. Second, great efforts have been made to develop new types of weaponry and equipment. Several anti-missile interception tests have been conducted. DARPA has issued an announcement for the Foundational Cyberwarfare Project (Plan X) to develop new systems for cyberspace operations and to define network maps. Test flights of hypersonic spacecraft such as X-37B, X-51A, and HTV-2 were conducted several times to improve prompt global strike capabilities. As to unmanned systems, DoD has continued to purchase UAVs such as MQ-9 Reaper which is capable of both reconnaissance and attack, and unmanned combat vehicles; meanwhile, it has stepped up efforts to develop new UAVs and Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs). Third, DoD has begun nuclear weapons modernization. While it began to improve and extend life cycles of active-service nuclear weapons systems, it is also committed to the R&D of next-generation strategic bombers and long-range standoff weapons. To sum up, the focus of U.S weapons systems development is on networking, stealth, precision, and automation.

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