The US has "slain a large dragon. But we now live in a jungle filled with a bewildering variety of poisonous snakes, and in many ways the dragon was easier to keep track of. ... You have a right to expect that the director of central intelligence will take a strong lead in reorienting the intelligence community to deal with this new world of ... one thousand points of darkness." -- R. James Woolsey, nominee for CIA Director, 2/2/93. [Defense News, 2/8.]

Defense cuts are forcing the Pentagon toward smart weapons, but that creates a mapping and intelligence problem. Many smart weapons must know where they are launched, what the target will look like, and what the terrain in between is like. Mission planning for an F-117A bomber run through air defenses takes an hour of computer time, and would take 10-12 hours by hand. A paper map and grease pencil will no longer do the job -- exact maps and digital imagery are required. Militaries around the world must now invest in long-range sensors, communication links, information displays, accurate maps, mission-planning computers, and reliable navigation systems. US needs have bolstered the roles of the Defense Mapping Agency (Fairfax), Defense Information Systems Agency (Arlington), and the classified Central Imagery Office. Support programs for smart weapons include the $7.4B US Joint Surveillance and Target Attack Radar System, the $1.6B US Defense Meteorological Satellite Program, and the $11B Navstar satellite-based navigation system. Defense contractors will also benefit, from Lockheed Sanders (Nashua, NH) to Visual Information Technologies (Dallas). [Neil Munro, Defense News, 2/8, p. 15.]

Duane Andrews, former assistant secretary of defense for command, control, communications, and intelligence (C3I), is warning that cuts in defense satellite and sensor programs (currently funded near $30B) may greatly reduce US intelligence- collecting capabilities. [Ibid, p. 34.]

The Army's modernization plan calls for $12.5B over the next six years to buy sensors and communications links for "the information war." Information security is a major concern, and it is argued that commercial equipment is too easily purchased and reverse-engineered. The Pentagon's unclassified C3I budget will remain steady at just under $10B/year for the next decade, according to the Electronic Industries Association. [Neil Munro, Defense News, 1/25, p. 1.]