Air Transportation is Essential to America's Economy and Our Way of Life
National Security: Keeping America Safe
	Challenge #1: Increase funding for cutting-edge defense research and development
	Challenge #2: Modernize the U.S. export control system to enable interoperability, capability, and defense cooperation with friends and allies
	Challenge #3: Inspire the nation’s future workforce by motivating students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and math
	Challenge #4: Create a 21st century acquisition process that gives our military personnel the best equipment at the best value for the taxpayer
America's Future Depends on Maintaining Space Leadership
Election 2008 Issues and Issue Papers
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Challenge #1: Increase funding for cutting-edge defense research and development.

America's technological superiority didn't just happen. It was the product of decades of work by hundreds of thousands of people — researchers, innovators, and those who turned new ideas into workable systems.

America's comparative advantage on the modern battlefield stems directly from sustained investment in research and development. Technology has always driven strategy and tactics and helped our armed forces win some great victories. Sustaining our strength, however, requires ongoing, predictable investments in defense research and development over a long period. As a nation, we should invest robustly into these accounts, including the basic research that makes all other advancements possible.

Our military personnel and scientists are unrivaled at "thinking outside the box" when developing new tools to make our world safer and our military more capable. But that doesn't happen without support and collaboration from both the private and public sectors. Doing all of this won't come cheaply but is well worth the investment when the alternatives are considered.

Some innovations that changed the game:

• Polaris submarine-launched ballistic missile systems and Minuteman ICBMs deterred a massive Soviet attack on the United States.
• U-2 and SR-71 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft provided critical intelligence during the Cold War.
• Helicopters reshaped the battlefield and led to rapid evacuation and treatment of wounded troops.
• Long-range, stand-off missiles allow U.S. aircraft to destroy opponents' tanks, vehicles, and infrastructure with precision and minimal collateral damage.
• Unmanned aircraft provide the United States with instant, effective, risk-free battlefield intelligence and strike capabilities.
• F-117 and B-2 stealth bombers allow U.S. pilots to reach and strike targets with greater safety and accuracy.
• Development of the U.S. Global Positioning System has revolutionized navigation and provided many new, innovative military applications.