View non-flash version
NAVY WILL SPEND OVER $9 BILLION IN FY 1988 ON R&D Increasing R&D Budgets Offers Many Business Opportunities For Navy Suppliers By Dr. James R. McCaul, President International Maritime Associates, Inc. This year the U.S. Navy will spend over $9 billion for research and development—generating a flow of business opportunities for equipment manufacturers, technol- ogy firms, computer software and hardware suppliers, engineering firms, svstems integrators, etc. R&D Funding Growth Growth in Navy R&D spending during the 1980s has been impres- sive. In 1980, the Navy spent $4.6 billion for R&D. Eight years later the figure had more than doubled— $9.5 billion in 1988. This growth has opened new areas of research and has brought many new companies Photo: Carrier USS America (CV-66) in Nor- wegian waters. Official U.S. Navy photo- graph. into the program. Exhibit 1 traces the growth in overall spending for Navy R&D in the 1980s. Range of R&D Activities Equally impressive is the extent of activities. They range from the highly esoteric to the very practi- cal—development of sensors for anti-air and antisubmarine warfare, C3 systems for command and con- trol, ship and naval aircraft develop- ment, missile and torpedo engineer- ing, electronic warfare concepts, etc. Some of the hottest new technology is being developed—advanced com- posites, parallel computing, laser communications, distributed con- trol systems, etc. And some of the more mature technology is being refined—hull forms, propeller de- sign, mines, electric drive, naviga- tion systems, etc. Program Structure There are more than 270 program elements—many of which have mul- (continued) Exhibit 1—Trend in the Navy R&D Budget Fiscal $ Index Year (in billions) (1980=100) 1980 $4.6 100 1981 5.0 109 1982 5.8 126 1983 6.1 133 1984 7.6 165 1985 9.2 200 1986 9.6 209 1987 9.4 204 1988 9.5 (actual) 207 1989 10.0 (planned) 217 Source: Department of the Navy March, 1988 27
