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News Index
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Air Force Cuts, New Congress Open Door for Mass. (Mass High Tech)
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by Alan J. Macdonald
Mass High Tech
Two recent developments -- the looming work-force restructuring of the U.S. Air Force and Democrats gaining control of Congress -- provide Massachusetts with a unique opportunity to expand its already world-class defense technology cluster.
Over the past several years, advanced technology has become more and more central to the U.S. warfighting strategy and has defined the competitive advantage of our military. Massachusetts military bases, private employers such as Dynamics Research Corp. and BAE Systems, research labs such as Mitre Corp. and MIT/Lincoln Labs, and the region's pool of public and private universities are among the principal contributors to recent advancement in military technology. This argument resonated through the halls of the Pentagon during the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) and helped Hanscom Air Force Base and the Natick Soldier Systems Center survive.
On a recent trip to the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., I heard from military leaders such as Gen. Bruce Carlson who emphasized the importance of technology in the face of current budgetary and capability challenges. In the next year, the Air Force is required to cut 57,000 jobs, reducing its 350,000-person work force by 16 percent. With a streamlined work force, technology will enable the Air Force to work smarter and more efficiently as its responsibilities expand worldwide.
Hanscom, with its vast technical expertise in command and control and other critical technologies -- supported by the backbone of the region's skilled industrial partners and research capabilities -- is primed for a greater role in technology development and integration for the Air Force and other branches. During the BRAC process, Massachusetts demonstrated that Hanscom could be expanded. This growth potential (known as "surge capacity" in the military) is critical to bring more military jobs to Hanscom.
Improvements in the acquisition, analysis and distribution of information, along with particular technologies such as systems networking, communications, power sources and robotics, will all be central in the fulfillment of military objectives -- especially in light of a changing enemy that fights under unconventional tactics. These are technologies that correlate with the distinct competitive strengths of the regional economy. This offers a tremendous opportunity to reconvene the parties that collaborated in the recent BRAC process to maximize the benefit of the transformation of the military infrastructure.
With the new Democratic leadership in Congress, the Massachusetts delegation will enjoy an expanded role on the House and Senate Armed Services committees, a critical Capitol Hill panel for the defense industry. U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, a longstanding member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, will continue his strong leadership for the nation's military strength. But with the added clout of serving in the majority party for the first time in years, Kennedy (who co-chaired the local BRAC efforts with Gov. Mitt Romney) will be in a position to set the military policy and appropriations agenda for the new Congress. U.S. Rep. Marty Meehan will be named chairman of the new House Armed Services Committee's oversight and investigations subcommittee. Meehan's district neighbors Hanscom, and many of the contractors with ties to Hanscom are in his district.
Last month, Meehan sponsored a conference at UMass Lowell to learn how to better access funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). A recent review by Mass High Tech showed Massachusetts losing its share of DARPA funds in recent years. This trend underscores the need for enhanced coordination among defense firms, universities and research labs; the Patrick administration; and the Congressional dele
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Video: May 16 Breakfast with Congresswoman Tsongas at Mercury Computer Systems (7/7/08)
Governor Makes Case for Cyber Command at Hanscom (5/22/08)
Regional Effort Needed to Attract Cyberspace Command (4/25/08)
General Quenneville Tapped to Lead Regions Defense Voice (1/25/08)
Hanscom Could Be Site of Cyber Command Center (3/20/08)
Bay State Officials Target Air Force Cyber R&D Dollars (1/4/08)
Natick Labs: Business, Military Putting Their Brains Together (11/27/07)
Base Realignments Lead Tech Firms to Ocean State (11/20/07)
Amid Bio Push, Older Tech Firms Look for Love (11/16/07)
Collaboration is Critical to Mass. Defense Sector (9/7/07)
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