Feds show off tech for international development

Officials at the March 2 Defense, Development and Diplomacy Summit, dubbed D3, cautioned the audience about the pace of technology development in government; and worried that budget constraints and the inability to more seriously tackle the climate change issue could affect the pace of that progress.

"Investments in technology are much more in the commercial side vs. defense," Frank Kendall, the Defense Department's undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, said. "The amount of resources invested in new technology outside of the Department of Defense is huge."

The State Department hosted the interagency event with DOD and the U.S. Agency for International Development taking an active role.

"We need to break out the old patterns of the past," Rose Gottemoeller, the State Department's undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, said during a panel discussion.  She stressed the importance of leveraging technology, especially when it comes in her domain of arms control agreements.

"We can't just throw up our hands in the arms control world and say we can't monitor these problems," she said.

The day-long summit also featured presentations on a range of technology initiatives, including 3D construction printing at Afghanistan air bases for the military, sustainable microgrids, and an active-shooter protection system that would detect when shots are fired and signal responders.

General Paul Selva, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, presented awards to six teams out of 500 who submitted projects.