Since the mid-1940s, when Vannevar Bush and
Theodore von Karman wrote Science, the Endless
Frontier and Toward New Horizons, respectively, there
has been a consensus that strong Department of Defense
support of science and technology (S&T) is important
to the security of the United States. During the
Cold War, as it faced technologically capable adversaries
whose forces potentially outnumbered U.S.
forces, the United States relied on a strong defense S&T
program to support the development of technologically
superior weapons and systems that would enable it to
prevail in the event of conflict. Since the end of the
Cold War, the United States has relied on its technological
superiority to maintain a military advantage
while at the same time reducing the size of its forces.
Over the past half-century, creating and maintaining a
technologically superior military capability have become
fundamental to U.S. national security strategy,
and investment in S&T has become a basic component
of the defense budget.