Hardest Challenge in Military Tech Race is Risk Aversion, Says Esper

Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and U.S. Navy Adm. Craig Faller, commander of U.S. Southern Command in Doral, Florida, on Jan. 23, 2020. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

The military needs to shed its culture of risk aversion if it wants to outpace China in the competition for technology-driven supremacy, said Defense Secretary Mark Esper.

In a speech on defense innovation and security on Jan. 24, Esper said that being the first to harness new technologies can be a key to a decisive advantage on the battlefield for many years to follow.”