reuters: Russia and China are trying to close the technology gap with the U.S. military and developing weapons systems that appear designed to counter traditional U.S. advantages, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said on Wednesday.

Hagel was speaking before a NATO summit expected to bring Russia’s souring relations with the West into sharp focus and the goals of NATO allies to strengthen defense spending.

Hagel said the Pentagon was renewing a push to revamp how it works with the defense industry. The goal, he said, was to promote greater innovation needed to preserve America’s technological edge, even at a time of tighter budgets.

“While the United States currently has a decisive military and technological edge over any potential adversary, our future superiority is not a given,” Hagel told a defense industry forum in Rhode Island.

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