Research for Survival
Publication: Transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers
Volume 127, Issue 5
Abstract
In face of the growing Soviet military threat and in an era of revolutionary progress in science and technology, a modern Army must be a changing Army. It must have the best in weapons and equipment that money and human skill can put together. In this business of research and development, the miracles of yesterday are fast becoming the relics of today.
Army Research and Development, to prepare for a future as awesome as it is near, is maximizing the use of today's great scientific discoveries and continually pressing for more progress in basic research. Basic research is the key to a future, dynamic technology.
The Army's contribution to basic research is now about $50,000, 000 a year. The fields of interest that have seen the greatest advances are metallurgy, electronics, and new energy sources.
Basic research feeds the insatiable appetite of applied research and development; the other part of the Army's Research and Development (R and D) Program, in which the effort is concentrated in. the classic fields of military endeavor-in improving firepower, communications, and mobility.
In the area of firepower, nuclear weapons and guided missiles are receiving wide attention, but are not the only novel weapons in the modern arsenal. Progress is also being made in improving tube artillery and light infantry weapons.
In the field of communications, the Army is perfecting devices to increase its command and control capability. It is also sharpening its ability to acquire target information and to maintain constant surveillance of the battlefield.
Mobility is the third vital field for R and D effort and the area in which the Army has the greatest need for progress. On the ground, commercial earth-moving and heavy construction equipment promise to provide ground combat forces true off-road mobility. New tanks and armored personnel carriers, now under development, will increase the striking power of the Army.
Through a ground mobility research program, the Army is seeking to isolate the primary factors influencing soil trafficability and determine their over-all influence on terrain and military operations. Present studies focus on such problems as how the weight, driving, turning, and stopping forces of a ground vehicle are transmitted to the supporting soil by various configurations of running gear.
Other developments in the fields of military bridging and construction are improving ground mobility. Among the most promising projects are the highly mobile floating assault bridge-ferry and the multi-purpose tractor.
In efforts to maintain its speed of movement, the Army is not overlooking the need for continuous logistical support. New projects in the logistical field include an overland petroleum distribution system over-the-beach equipment and a submerged terminal and submarine pipeline system.
Still, for better battlefield mobility, the Army is concentrating on the air—on aircraft of revolutionary design that fly just above “the nap of the earth” and have the take-off and landing characteristics of the helicopter with the advantages of the fixed-wing aircraft in forward flight.
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Published In
Transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers
Volume 127 • Issue 5 • January 1962
Pages: 20 - 39
Copyright
© 1962 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Published in print: Jan 1962
Published online: Feb 10, 2021
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