The Center for Strategic And Budgetary Assessments congratulates analysts Sean Cate and Jesse Sloman for winning the U.S. Naval Institute’s (USNI) Emerging & Disruptive Technologies Essay Contest. Their essay, “Operating Under Constant Surveillance,” was selected first from among 81 other entries. Cate and Sloman’s accomplishment will recognized today during a luncheon at the Navy League’s Sea-Air-Space Conference in Washington DC which will also feature an address by Secretary of Defense Ashton B. Carter.
USNI believes economic realities and the ever increasing pace of technology advancement have given rise to dialogue about the need for innovation and the role of emerging and disruptive technologies in defense. The phrase "emerging and disruptive technologies" has come to mean different things to different people. Operators want capability, capacity, and availability, and they need to be ready to fight today. Program managers are concerned about disruptive impacts on their ability to meet programmatic "cost, schedule, and performance." Resource sponsors want affordable solutions to meet requirements. With their essay contest USNI challenged entrants to identify and discuss specific emerging and disruptive technologies whose impact justifies the risks involved in their employment.