ABSTRACT
Since the early 1950s there has been enormous technological change in the armed forces. Major elements of this change have included intercontinental ballistic missiles and long-range sea-launched ballistic missiles; supersonic combat aircraft; the new computers of the computer revolution; and nuclear-powered submarines. The gradual replacement of the technologies of the 1940s and 1950s by entirely new means for carrying out military tasks raised many hopes that, after the Vietnam war subsided, Americans would be able to reduce the amount of money they would have to spend on defense. All applications of technology reach performance limits imposed by strengths of materials, efficiency of energy conversion, or other physical phenomena. The essence of new applications of technology is the extension of such limits. But whatever the technology permits, the closer its technical limits are approached the more costly will be the achievement of the resulting performance.
