People Who Know How

To Make Research Real

Weapons Technology CentreThe UK MOD wants to make sure that its research partners are connected with suppliers – and that the outcomes of research work are exploited effectively. Suppliers want access to the best technology at the right time. We have people who know how to manage research programmes involving industry, research providers and MOD. The Weapons Technology Centre, which we run on behalf of Dstl, is a great example. There are over 35 partner organisations – and the flexibility of our model means new partners are always welcome to join. Managing research outputs is a disciplined activity, and one our people excel in. We are not in the supply chain ourselves, so we are in a great position to ensure that research outputs are fed to those who can make most use of them.

Communications and Information Infrastructure ResearchCommunications, with its huge investment in consumer solutions and its fast and furious commercial drivers, is one of the most dynamic technology areas for defence. We have people who know how to keep on top of this fast-moving terrain. Our people lead research into the UK MOD’s Global Information Infrastructure, keeping tabs on communications, networking and security advances. Our people provide technical advice to MOD through the research programme known as ESII (Enabling Secure Information Infrastructure). Our customer, Dstl, values the access we provide to a broad based consortium of industry giants, Small to Medium-Sized Enterprises and universities. The support of the research programme in the development of new communications capability is acknowledged by Exelis, a key contributor to the team. Funding released through ESII assisted them with the development of the Linear PA aspect of their High Capacity Data Radio. World leading technologies for world class war fighters.

Exploiting Gaming TechnologyDefence customers are keen to take advantage of the global investment in gaming and synthetic environment technologies to enhance training and simulation. We have people who know how to translate innovative thinking led by commercial drivers into defence systems, affordably and at pace. Our people lead this research under the COTSEE (Commercial-Off-The-Shelf Evaluation and Exploitation) programme, informing and de-risking defence activities.

Developing Unmanned Aerial Systems Capability In the new world of autonomous systems, the UK MOD wants to be sure new assets will be managed effectively, interoperate with legacy systems, and be deployable where needed despite regulatory constraints. We have people who know how to manage air traffic considerations and embed unmanned systems within the UK military capability effectively. On behalf of the UK MOD we are hosting the UAS CDC (Unmanned Air Systems Capability Development Centre) so our people’s in depth understanding of air vehicle engineering, of release-to-service, of integrating command and control and communications systems, and above all, of safety, can be combined with the expertise of suppliers large and small to bring this new capability to life.

We all know it’s good to invest in research and that innovation drives economic growth. The challenge is ensuring that money spent on research generates real benefits for those who have funded it.

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