Fiscal Year 2015 Air Force Science and Technology

Our Nation is one of a vast array of actors in a complex, volatile, and unpredictable security environment. Globalization and the proliferation of technology mean we face threats across a wide spectrum and competition across all domains. We're confronted by ever-evolving adversaries ranging from one person with a single interconnected computer to sophisticated capable militaries and everything in between. We're also challenged by the shear pace of change among our adversaries fueled by profound information and technology diffusion worldwide. As stated by the Chief of Staff of the Air Force in the Global Vigilance, Global Reach and Global Power For Our Nation vision, "despite the best analyses and projections by national security experts, the time and place of the next crisis are never certain and are rarely what we expect." Success and the guaranty of security in this dynamic environment require that we both take lessons learned from the last decade of conflict and creatively visualize the future strategic landscape. It's in this space, between learning from the past and keeping an open eye to the future, where we find opportunity. The focused and balanced investments of the Air Force Fiscal Year 2015 S&T Program are hedges against the unpredictable future and provide pathways to a flexible, precise and lethal force at a relatively low cost in in relation to the return on investment. The Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics recently reminded us that complacency now and in the future is simply not an option. Maintaining, and even expanding, our technological advantage is vital to ensuring sustained freedom of access and action in air, space and cyberspace.