Analysts See Shortfalls In Pentagon S&T Funding.

The Pentagon needs to invest more in science-and-technology programs to be prepared to deter or defeat advanced adversaries, according to a recent think tank report.

President Joe Biden's fiscal year 2022 military budget request is a "mixed bag," said a new Center for a New American Security study, "Risky Business: Future Strategy and Force Options for the Defense Department."

"In some respects, it appears to prioritize preparing for high-end conflict. The large [research, development, test and evaluation] budget suggests that the DoD is focused on developing the next generation of technologies and capabilities," it said. "Yet one needs to look below the topline RDT&E budget to examine how much of those funds is allocated to the science and technology budget (budget activity codes 6.1-6.3), which is critical basic and applied research that is needed to develop advanced technologies, especially the game-changing types of technologies that the Biden administration claims to be focused on."

The RDT&E programs that fall under other activity codes are focused on developing more near-term prototypes and improvements to existing capabilities, noted CNAS analysts Stacie Pettyjohn, Becca Wasser and Jennie Matuschak, who authored the report.

The proposed $14.7 billion S&T budget for 2022 is just 13 percent of the total RDT&E budget request, they noted. In comparison, the 2015 budget request for science and technology accounted for 18.1 percent of the...