Defense Research
and Development
From the Warfighter to the American Consumer,
Redefining Everyday Lives Through Innovation
F e deral Investme n t Series
Marc h 2014
Electronics and computer technologies have revolutionized
the conduct of modern stock exchanges.
Contents
Introduction....................................................... 3
By the Numbers: R&D Spending........................ 4
The Cell Phone................................................... 6
Medical Science................................................. 8
The Modern Automobile.................................. 10
The Flat Screen Television............................... 11
Appendix
Liquid crystal display (LCD) under magnification:
LCD technology traces its origins in part to investments
made in defense technology during the 1960s and 1970s.
Introduction
Federal investments in science and technology research and
development are threatened by the current budget environment. The Aerospace Industries Association is embarking on
an education effort to inform policymakers, elected leaders
and the American public on the impact of federal R&D dollars
on the innovations that redefine our everyday lives.
This report – the first in a series that examines the impact of
federal investment programs – highlights four case studies
of private sector technologies and products that have been
largely defined or influenced by defense R&D spending. These
case studies include the cellular smart phone, the hospital
operating room, the modern automobile and the flat screen
television. Each case study provides a narrated illustration of
the product and its connections to defense R&D.
The President’s budget for fiscal year 2015 requests a reduction in science and technology funding across both defense
and non-defense discretionary accounts. This would reinforce
existing reductions from the past several budget cycles. If sequestration is not addressed in fiscal year 2016 and beyond,
this downward angle could turn into a nosedive. AIA believes
policymakers must ensure a robust and balanced defense
research program, not only for the substantial benefits it
provides to America’s warfighters, but also for the resulting
commercial innovations that help grow our productivity and
our economy.
Over the past six decades, federal investment in R&D
programs has acted as an incubator for innovation, producing an immeasurable array of technological advancements that have come to define modern life and society
at large. These investments have provided the basis for a
revolution in electronic systems, communications, materials and medical science, the results of which have served
as the building blocks for today’s most common technologies, including transistors, the Internet, GPS navigation
and liquid crystal technology, to name a few.
The connection between research programs and commercial deployment of technologies is often multi-faceted.
Program requirements can provide both the research
impetus and critical opportunity for technology to mature
through production and continual improvement. However, not all technologies that follow this path spill into
the private market. Those that do are defined both by
market demand and by calculated private investments
that enable them to emerge as profitable products. These
disparate paths demonstrate how investments made in
advanced research can result in enormous contributions
to the nation’s economy and industrial competitiveness.
3
By the Numbers
Current and Historical Defense R&D Funding
Throughout most of its history, the Defense Department has
been engaged in some form of science and technology development; however it was not until World War II that a dominant
paradigm of R&D activities emerged. This paradigm is characterized by the establishment of a critical relationship between
universities, industry and defense laboratories on a number of
fronts including electronics, communications, materials, weapons and medical sciences.
The watershed moment for this era occurred in 1957 when
the Soviet Union’s launch of the Sputnik satellite unleashed an
unprecedented acceleration of domestic research budgets and
the establishment of R&D organizations including the Defense
Advanced Research Projects Agency and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
After the 1960s, federal R&D funding for both defense and nondefense accounts slowed and decreased as a share of the total
federal budget. During this period, two buildups characterized
the trajectory of R&D expenditures: the first occurred in the
1980s during the Reagan Administration; the second was in
the 2000s, after September 11, 2001.
Presently, DOD’s research program is organized into several
functional categories under the Research, Development, Test
and Evaluation program, the core of which is the Science and
Technology program. Science and Technology program activities include those in basic research (noted as 6.1 in the chart
below) including particle physics and material sciences; applied
research (6.2) including hardware development; and advanced
technology development (6.3). The remainder of research
activities and associated funding under RDT&E and other DOD
accounts are utilized for medical research, full-scale development, test and evaluation and management support.
Defense, Nondefense R&D and Defense R&D as a Share of Total Budget, FY 1976-2014
(budget authority in billions of constant 2013 dollars)
200
Nondefense
4.0
4
DEFENSE R&D AS % OF FEDERAL BUDGET
150
3.5
3.0
100
2.5
50
2.0
19
76
19
77
19
78
19
79
19
80
19
81
19
82
19
83
19
84
19
85
19
86
19
87
19
88
19
89
19
90
19
91
19
92
19
93
19
94
19
95
19
96
19
97
19
98
19
99
20
00
20
01
20
02
20
03
20
04
20
05
20
06
20
07
20
08
20
09
20
10
20
11
20
12
20
13
20 **
14
**
BILLIONS OF CONSTANT 2013 DOLLARS
Defense
Defense R&D as a % of Federal Budget
Source: AAAS R&D report series, based on OMB and agency R&D budget data Includes conduct of R&D and R&D facilities.
* Between FY 1991 and 1992, R&D from ADAMHA (HHS) transferred to NIH. ADAMHA R&D included in NIH totals for all years.
** Latest estimates. FY 2014 is the President’s request.
“Some of the Agency’s greatest contribu-
In fiscal year 2012, total DOD RDT&E activities accounted for
$80.4 billion or 55 percent of the total federal expenditure on
R&D ($145.5 billion). This figure is down from a peak of $92.5
billion in fiscal year 2008 and represents its lowest percent
share of the overall federal budget since the 1960s, starting
from a high of more than 10 percent in 1962 and ending at a
low of 2.1 percent in 2012. Congressionally-directed medical
research activities undertaken by DOD, which are appropriated
outside of RDT&E, represent a much smaller proportion of the
budget but have experienced steady growth over the past decade, starting from a base of $50 million in fiscal year 1999 and
reaching a peak of $1.3 billion in fiscal year 2012.
tions - things we now take for granted and
as having been inevitable - were, at their
inception, often considered impossible...
But these seemingly impossible things
were turned to the improbable and then
to the inevitable by people with vision and
determination to make their vision real.”
— Ken Gabriel, Deputy Director of DARPA, February 2012
Trends in Department of Defense Science and Technology, FY 1990-2014
(budget authority in billions of constant 2013 dollars)
Medical Research*
Advanced Technology Development [6.3]
Applied Research [6.2]
15
Basic Research [6.1]
10
14
**
20
*
13
*
12
20
20
Source: AAAS Reports and agency budget data. Constant dollar conversions based on OMB’s GDP deflators from the FY 2014 budget.
* Medical research is appropriated outside RDT&E; appropriated in “6.2” accounts before 1999.
** Latest estimates. FY 2014 is the President’s request.
20
11
10
20
09
20
08
20
07
20
6
20
0
05
20
04
20
03
20
02
20
01
20
00
20
99
5
19
BILLIONS OF CONSTANT 2013 DOLLARS
20
Defense R&D Related Technology: The Cell Phone
Digital Camera Technology
A cell phone camera operates by converting light into electrical signals thanks to a light-sensitive chip called a CMOSAPS sensor. Pioneered in defense-funded laboratories
during the 1960s, CMOS technology enabled the packing
of thousands (and later millions) of transistors onto a single
chip, which served as the basis for numerous technologies including solid-state memory and computer processors. However, it was not until the early 1990s that NASA
researchers adapted CMOS into a miniature image sensor
using active pixel sensing, or APS. In 1993, CMOS-APS
technology was spun-out from NASA and quickly became
the standard for a majority of digital-imaging applications.
Random Access Memory
In the 1950s, MIT researchers working for the U.S. Navy
realized the first breakthrough in random access memory,
called magnetic core memory. Magnetic core replaced
unreliable relays and vacuum tubes in early computers as
a form of temporary data storage utilized for calculations.
In the 1970s, advancements in magnetic core gave way to
semiconductor memory, a key technology that enabled the
commercialization of modern computers and cell phones in
the following decades.
Plastics
First synthesized in the late 19th century, plastics were not
fully realized as a practical material until the height of World
War II after a chemical process discovered in the 1930s
enabled the production of plastic that could insulate battlefield electronics. Subsequent research on plastic in the late
1940s, led to its commercial boom in the consumer marketplace, resulting in its now ubiquitous use in daily life.
6
Micro-Electro-Mechanical Gyroscope & Accelerometer
The smart phone’s ability to measure pitch, roll, yaw and acceleration is due to a microchip that replicates the function
of an accelerometer and gyroscope. Though gyroscopes
and accelerometers were in use in the early 20th century,
the push to miniaturize them for an array of defense applications during the Cold War stimulated significant innovations
in their design. By the 1990s, Micro-Electro-Mechanical
technology, funded in part by DARPA and the U.S. Air
Force, enabled gyroscopic and accelerometric functions to
be microscopically replicated onto the surface of an integrated circuit. With no moving parts, MEM devices operate
through electromechanical vibration, which is utilized to
detect changes in relative motion.
Transistors & Integrated Circuits
In the 1950s and 1960s, pressure from the Cold War stimulated significant investment into technologies that would
improve defense computers and communications systems.
As one of the most critical of these breakthroughs, Bell Labs
and Texas Instruments developed the first silicon transistors in the early 1950s after a series of advancements in
semiconductor materials processing. Transistors ultimately
replaced vacuum tubes in everything from radios to computers and enabled their significant reduction in size and
cost. By the 1960s, further advancements in semiconductors enabled transistors to be miniaturized and placed by
the thousands on microscopic integrated circuits. These
circuits coupled with other advancements ultimately enabled
the range of modern electronics that we use today.
Liquid Crystal Display
The electronic display of a mobile phone consists of a liquid
crystal display, or LCD, that uses an electric field to adjust
the visual characteristics of liquid crystals. Though knowledge of the properties of liquid crystals had been around
since the early 20th century, it was not until a renewed
interest driven in part by defense funding in the 1960s that
spurred R&D into its practical applications. Over the subsequent years advancements were made to the technology
and by the 1990s, LCDs were commonplace in early laptop
screens, flat screen displays, calculators, watches and of
course, the display on a mobile phone.
Lithium Ion Polymer Battery
In the 1970s, the U.S. Army’s requirement for a new and
more energy-dense power source for battlefield devices
spurred research and development into lithium-ion technology. Though expensive and difficult to work with, lithium
chemistry provided greater energy densities while being
smaller and lighter in weight than traditional alkaline batteries. By the 1990s, the commercial market opened up for
lithium-ion batteries and the technology became a critical
component of modern wireless electronics and devices.
Personal Voice Assistant [“SIRI”]
During the 2000s, DARPA conducted research on a voice
command interface to help military commanders organize
data and make sense of fast moving situations. The result was the Personalized Assistant that Learns or PAL, a
voice-recognition program that could retrieve and synthesize
information while learning from a user’s queries. In 2008, the
technology was spun-out and later integrated in the iPhone
4s and subsequent generation iPhones as the SIRI (Speech
Interpretation and Recognition Interface) voice assistant.
The Internet
As one of the most significant innovations of its era, the
Internet traces its origins to an experimental concept
pioneered at an ARPA (DARPA’s predecessor) lab in the
1960s. At the time, researchers had envisioned a computer
technology that would allow them to share data and communicate between computers anywhere in the country.
The first iteration of this early internet was called ARPANET,
which grew over decades to include dozens of computers
at research centers and universities across the country. By
the early 1990s, the popularity of the network had grown so
significantly that it was opened up for commercial traffic in
1995.
GPS Enabled Navigation
In the late 1950s, researchers realized that they could pinpoint the location of a terrestrial object by analyzing signals
transmitted from satellites in space. From this research, the
U.S. Navy and DARPA developed a constellation of satellites, called TRANSIT that could aid in the navigation and
positioning of nuclear submarines, aircraft or ICBM launches. By the 1970s, an upgraded navigation system called the
Navstar Global Positioning System (GPS) was developed,
which was opened for public use in the early 1990s.
Radio Transmission Technology
Mobile phones operate by utilizing radio signals to connect
and receive data from cell phone towers over long distances. The concept for a hand-held communication device was
first developed decades earlier by the defense department
for long and short-range field communication equipment,
such as “walkie-talkies.” By the early 1980s, improvements
in the cost and size of the technology made the concept
commercially viable, and the first cell phone was manufactured and marketed to the civilian public in 1984.
Defense R&D Related Technology: Medical Science
Plastics
Once used to insulate and protect sensitive battlefield electronics in WWII, plastics have become one of today’s most
commonly used materials. Although they are quite common,
plastics play an especially important role in hospitals. Found
in everything from IVs to Pacemakers, the non-reactivity,
sterility and insulative properties of plastics make the material indispensable in medical applications.
Emergency Medical Practices
The nature of injuries and emergency treatment in the battlefield has led to a steady stream of private sector innovations
that benefit civilian emergency medicine. These advancements include plasma substitutes that can be kept at room
temperature; improved EMS practices, including gauze
treated with clotting agents; and standard practices for tourniquet and intravenous therapy uses. Other advancements
include emergency first responder robots; GPS enabled
situational awareness for first responders; and patient-wearable devices that give medical personnel instant access to
medical records without physical contact.
Medical Diagnostics and Procedures
A large array of medical advancements and diagnostics
have been developed or facilitated as a result of defense
research activities. Most notably, ultrasound was developed to detect gallstones in the late 1940s after the Navy’s
work on sonar technology during WWII; ultrasound is now
used in a wide variety of medical and diagnostic contexts.
Other technological advancements include telesurgery and
telerobotics, image processing technology and surgical laser
technology.
Modern Computer Technology
Enabled by decades of defense advancements, computer
technologies play a critical role in modern medicine by allowing medical professionals to analyze the human body
and manage information in ways never before possible.
Computer technologies provide critical medical functions
such as monitoring vital signs and running MRI (Magnetic
Resonance Imaging) and CT (Computed Tomography)
scans. More recently, defense research has made advancements in related fields such as health informatics, which
connect patients to doctors and pharmacies and facilitates
the exchange of information about prescriptions and health
records.
Vaccines and Bio-Surveillance
The nature of global conflicts has resulted in decades of
research aimed at protecting service members from foreign pathogens and infectious diseases. This research has
resulted in numerous civilian vaccines and medical practices
that are now commonplace in modern medicine. Research
has also focused on understanding the spread of infectious
diseases by developing a computerized bio-surveillance
system to aid in tracking and analysis for both civilian and
military use.
Artificial Limbs
Defense research has been at the forefront of advancing
artificial limb technologies in the fields of neuroscience,
robotics, sensors and power systems. This research has
focused on creating prosthetics that match the strength and
dexterity of a natural limb and can be cognitively controlled.
Other artificial limb advancements have focused on materials that are more durable and comfortable for the user.
9
Defense R&D Related Technology: The Modern Automobile
GPS Navigation
Once developed to provide positioning and navigation data
to nuclear submarines and ICBMs during the Cold War,
satellite-enabled navigation, now GPS, has led to a commercial revolution in transportation and electronics. Either
through smart phones, stand-alone devices or through standard equipment installed in a vehicle, users can receive real
time information on their current location and distance and
route information to a particular destination.
Computer Technology
With the advent of fuel injection technology in the late
1980s, computers have played an ever-growing role in modern automobiles. They determine fuel mixture, monitor critical engine and vehicle performance, provide GPS-enabled
directions and run sophisticated music and entertainment
systems. These computers, like the computers we have in
our phones or on our desktops at home, have resulted from
decades of defense related advancement in computer technologies such as memory, circuitry and software.
Lithium-Ion Battery
In the 1970s, the U.S. Army invested in lithium-ion battery
technology to replace the bulkier and less energy dense alkaline-based batteries in battlefield electronics and devices.
Today these investments have resulted in the prevalence of
lithium ion battery technology in modern technologies and
have enabled the commercial development of gasolineelectric hybrid and full electric vehicles that are on the roads
today.
Tire Technology
In the mid 2000s, the need for tires on battlefield vehicles to
withstand adverse events such as explosions or punctures
spurred a number of advancements in tire construction and
materials resulting in run-flat and airless tire technology. Today many of these advancements have found their way into
the commercial market for civilian automobiles.
Aluminum Alloys
Modern automobiles owe much of their construction – including frame and engine components – to aluminum alloys.
Defense research played a key role in advancing the state
of the art for aluminum manufacturing and compositions
throughout many decades in the pursuit of alloys for aerospace and defense applications.
Plastics and Composites
Plastics and other lightweight composites are an essential
material in modern automobiles and owe much of their early
heritage to defense investments made in the 1940s and
1950s. Today plastics can be found in a variety of areas including engine components, bumpers, side panels, airbags,
interior paneling and signal lights
Defense R&D Related Technology: The Flat Screen TV
LCD Screen
For many flat screen televisions in use today, the screen typically consists of a liquid crystal display, or LCD, that uses
an electric field to adjust the visual characteristics of liquid
crystals. Though there had been knowledge of the properties of liquid crystals since the early 20th century, it was not
until a renewed interest driven in part by defense funding in
the 1960s that spurred R&D into its practical applications.
Over the subsequent years, advancements were made
to the technology and by the 1990s LCD displays were
commonplace in early laptop screens, flat screen displays,
calculators, watches and mobile phones.
Plastics / Polyethylene
Plastic plays an important role in modern electronics and
appliances, including the television. Not only does it provide structure, its ability to hold any color and take any
shape make plastic ideal for designing and manufacturing
this staple of household appliances. DVD players and even
your remote control also rely on plastic to protect inner
electronics from damage, which makes this material an
essential component in the living room of millions of American families. Many of these plastics can trace their heritage
to defense investments made in their manufacture in the
1940s and 1950s.
Transistors & Integrated Circuits
In the 1950s and 1960s, Cold War pressure stimulated
significant investment into technologies that would improve
defense computers and communications systems. As one
of the most critical of these breakthroughs, Bell Labs and
Texas Instruments invented silicon transistors in the 1950s
after a series of advancements in semiconductor materials
processing. Transistors ultimately replaced vacuum tubes
in everything from radios to computers and enabled their
significant reduction in size and cost. By the 1960s, further
advancements in semiconductors enabled transistors to be
miniaturized and placed by the thousands on microscopic
integrated circuits. These circuits coupled with other advancements ultimately enabled the range of modern electronics that we use today.
The Internet
Many flat screen televisions available on the market are able
to connect to the Internet in order to view multimedia or
download content. In concert with the Internet, the applications, websites and platforms we use enable endless entertainment and even facilitate commerce. Unlike its current
interactive and creative capacity, the Internet was created as
an experimental concept for defense researchers to exchange data between computers across the country in the
1960s. Its popularity grew steadily over the decades, and
in 1995 the network was opened up for commercial traffic.
Today, the Internet serves as the public’s primary source for
entertainment, research and communication.
Liquid Crystal Display Technology
A liquid crystal display (LCD) is made up of a fixed array of
cells. Each cell has a single red, blue and green sub-pixel.
Three sub-pixels make up a single pixel and millions of
these pixels make up an image.
11
APPENDIX
APS
CMOS
DARPA
DOD
GPS
ICBM
LCD
MEM
MIT
NASA
PAL
RAM
R&D
RDT&E
S&T
TBI
Active Pixel Sensor
Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
Department of Defense
Global Position System
Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile
Liquid Crystal Display
Micro Electro Mechanical machine
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Personalized Assistant that Learns
Random Access Memory
Research and Development
Research Development Technology and Evaluation
Science and Technology
Traumatic Brain Injury
1000 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 1700
Arlington, Va 22209-3928
703.358.1000
www.aia-aerospace.org