99 Problems...

“It’s about the budget,” Army Aviation Task Force director Brig. Gen. Stephen D. Mundt told the audience during the “Future Developments Panel” at this week’s Army Aviation Association meeting when discussing aircraft development programs.

With two very expensive shooting wars going on in Iraq and Afghanistan, there’s an obvious—and undeniable—tension in the military between funding troops in the field while still pouring money into research and development back home to ensure that new systems are developed and tested. And during the panel discussion between Maj. Gen. Virgil L. Packett, Maj. Gen. James R. Myles, Brig. Gen. Stephen D. Mundt, Col. Richard Stockhausen, DARPA’s Don Woodbury and PEO Aviation’s Paul Bogosian, this problem came up again and again. 

“How can you look at the future and the modernization of the force while you’re still trying to fight the war today?” Gen. Mundt asked, before answering his own question with, well, another question: “How can you not do that?” You’ve constantly got to be thinking about modernization.”

Read the rest at Defense Technology International's ARES blog.