Technology and the defense industry: real threats, bad habits, or new (market) opportunities?

Renaud Bellais (1)

1 ENSTA Bretagne_SHS - Département Sciences Humaines et Sociales ENSTA Bretagne

Technology has been playing a central role in defense spending or arms-producing countries since World War II. Although there has been no major threat or conflict since the 1990s, defense R&D absorbs a large share of military expenditures, as well as public R&D. This technology-centric paradigm results from uncertainties surrounding defense matters and the need to avoid strategic surprises. However, one can wonder whether such a paradigm is still adapted to today's defense needs. This is a trend strongly driven by the supply side: defense firms have developed a business model that cannot survive without launching new programs, hence a high level of defense R&D. This explains both an overinvestment in technology, resulting in the development of unaffordable technologies or unsustainable performance targets, and the technology-centric model that defense firms favor in side markets like security.

Mots clés: Defense; R&D; technology; security; procurement

Domaines: Economies et finances

Renaud Bellais. Technology and the defense industry: real threats, bad habits, or new (market) opportunities?. Journal of Innovation Economics & Management, 2013, 2013/02 (12), pp.59-78. ⟨hal-00947395⟩