Changing world blazes new trail for military technology.

SPECIAL REPORT BY NATIONAL DEFENSE STAFF

* A striking array of new challenges is reshaping the course of defense technology. The United States is entering what can be described as the "end of the post-Cold War era," characterized by fiscal austerity and the rise of "non-state" actors as enemies of nation states. The national security community and defense industry are expected to innovate. They will need to develop and acquire a new generation of weapons and equipment that can be adapted to fight major wars, quell insurgencies and respond to natural disasters. Unlike the Cold War, the innovation in this new era will be dominated by commercial technologies, as civilian investments in research and development continue to dwarf government expenditures.

In this special report, National Defense identifies five key trends that will influence the industry's approach to developing next-generation weapons and related systems.

One is the clash between citizens' desire for security and also for privacy. As countries seek to combat terrorist groups, they will look to acquire technologies that, critics argue, infringe on individual rights to privacy. Pressure from both arenas will shape the future course of military research and development.

Another game changer in the defense technology world is Google, which is giving government agencies low-cost access to tech tools that in years past would have cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Technologies like Google Glass and Google Earth continue to be adapted into...