Chapter 7 National Projects for Marine and Undersea Development 
A series of National Projects in the 1970’s is 
recommended to help assess and develop the most 
economical methods for this Nation to advance 
into the oceans and to provide a springboard for 
continuing developments in the period 1980 to 
2000. The United States can and should be the 
unquestioned world leader in ocean technology 
well before the turn of the century. 
Extensive new benefits from the oceans will 
require hard work, and not all will be immediately 
apparent. Unfortunately, today, most marine oper- 
ations are restrained by tradition and outmoded 
technology. A bold, challenging, and carefully 
planned marine engineering and technology pro- 
gram is essential to the national goal of establish- 
ing the capability for exploring, occupying, utiliz- 
ing and managing the oceans. The series of 
National Projects will assist materially in develop- 
ing the capability to reap the ocean’s potential 
benefits and to establish a foundation for future 
national growth. 
1. RELATIONSHIP OF NATIONAL PROJECTS 
TO THE DEVELOPMENT CYCLE 
It is suggested that the Ten-Year Program of 
Undersea Development can achieve technological 
progress more rapidly by integrating fundamental 
technology development with a series of national 
facilities, programs, and projects generically called 
National Projects. National Projects will help 
advance fundamental technology, broadening the 
base for better future utilization of the ocean 
environment. Accomplishment of these projects 
will give incentive and support to numerous 
subsystem and component developments. The 
knowledge, experience, and confidence gained will 
enable the design, construction, and operation of 
many operational systems. These will produce 
manifold expected benefits—economic, social, 
political, scientific, and military. 
The sequence of steps in Figure 1 suggests that 
numerous interchanges and feedbacks will 
NATIONAL PROJECTS 
Fundamental Technology 
Expected Benefits 
Figure 1. Simplified marine technology development cycle. 
Subsystem and Component Development 
om __| 
Operational Systems 
VI-221 
