5.0. Ocean Science and Technology and 
National Security 
5.1. INTRODUCTION 
The most urgent aspect of Federal involvement in ocean science 
and technology for the next 5 to 10 years relates to national security 
in the narrow, strictly military sense. The U.S. Navy, which has 
responsibility for essentially all our defense efforts involving the ocean 
environment, will have increasing need for specialized oceanographic 
data for specific devices being developed or improved and will con- 
tinue to require better understanding of characteristics of the ocean 
environment in which it operates. 
In particular the Navy will need to improve the capabilities of its 
undersea strategic forces and ASW forces, as well as to increase its 
ability to perform undersea search and recovery. Improvement of 
the Navy’s capabilities in these areas depends heavily on our national 
ability to discover and exploit new knowledge in ocean science and 
on our success in developing new and relevant ocean technology. A1- 
though everyone is aware in a general sense that ocean knowledge 
has military implications, the underlying reasons may not be widely 
understood. The military importance of oceanography entails an 
understanding of the nature of our national security programs, which 
themselves are not always completely comprehended. 
Whereas the Navy’s involvement in oceanography because of se- 
curity and its often specialized interest will of necessity be distinct 
from that of other Government and private programs, the Navy 
must maintain working relations with all elements of the scientific 
and technological communities concerned. This relationship has been 
excellent in the past, correctly reflecting the Navy’s deep interest in 
oceanographic research, and it should be strengthened in the future. 
5.2. VITAL NAVY MISSIONS HEAVILY DEPENDENT ON OCEAN 
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 
Antisubmarine Warfare. The submarine threat to the United 
States has been and is expected to remain a very serious consideration 
in defense planning. The Soviet Union now has a massive submarine 
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