Caveat Emptor: The Danger Of Using Commercial Technologies In Combat (From Forbes)
There is much enthusiasm among military planners these days for tapping into the innovations of the commercial sector. That’s fine up to a point, but a wholesale adoption of commercial technology without due consideration to dangers could lead to operational disaster. For instance, China’s military undoubtedly has a detailed understanding of how to intercept, jam and degrade commercial satcom signals. To take another example, the program office managing a recompete of the production contract for the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle is signaling interest in commercial driver-assist technology. It better be prepared to do some extensive testing, because off-the-shelf tech isn’t likely to offer the reliability, sustainability and security necessary to prevail in modern combat. I have written a commentary for Forbes here.
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