Pentagon tech head Mike Griffin now delivering a keynote at #DNConf , leading off by rewinding to the end of the Cold War and how China and Russia caught up.

"These are not systems that people build who have peaceful intentions towards others," Griffin says of #Hypersonic weapons.

Griffin: "One has to deter people, not societies. One must deter decision makers." He gave a somewhat complicated take on deterrence theory that was interesting but hard to explain on Twitter.

Griffin: Idea US will "invade and occupy" Russia or China is not a "worthwhile pursuit." But US must maintain presence in "contested domains" to deter.

Griffin says carriers and fighters are still relevant. The US can't give up on them because they are an advantage for America, but also have to be aware that adversary nations have developed countermeasures and US must respond. #DNConf

China has "literally thousand" of long range, tactical non-nuclear weapons.

"What will China fear more... 2000 conventional strike missiles or one new carrier? Because those two things cost about the same amount of money."

Griffin: "We need to be thinking in greater depth about the role" of unmanned systems across all domains. Also need more sensor capability, hypersonic strike capabilities, resilient networked command/control. And need to understand biotech and bio-engineering. #DNConf

Griffin: Adversaries working on four year defense tech acquisition cycles. US more like 10-20 years. "It's so long that it is not relevant to the need," he says. #DNConf

It's less flashy, but Griffin says another need for Pentagon is going back to peer-review research and better portfolio management approach. "As much money as we have, we can't do everything... we must decide some things cannot and possibly should not be afforded." #DNConf

Griffin says 5G is a top priority, "right behind microelectronics initiative.” He's been on a #5G kick recently. https://www.defensenews.com/pentagon/2019/08/13/pentagon-could-offer-up-its-bases-as-5g-test-beds/