TechUK, the UK’s technology trade association, has published a report on how technology is transforming defence – DefTech: Technology Transforming Defence. The report looks at how the way defence technology has evolved through the war in Ukraine will transform not only how wars are fought, but will reshape the defence market. A greater role for SMEs and startups, and for dual-use technologies will bring new companies and technologies into defence. The report argues that “a radical transformation of the entire Defence enterprise is required, spanning the Defence centre, delivery organisations, end users, the DefTech community and wider society.” This needs to see better innovation based on a clear understanding of challenges, with faster procurement and pull-through to users.
TechUK argues for, “a wider civil society that acknowledges the existential threats facing the West, and the need for both government and private investors to not just remove existing barriers but encourage and enable greater investment.”
Very much in line with the ethos behind our own Resilience Conference, TechUK argues for, “a wider civil society that acknowledges the existential threats facing the West, and the need for both government and private investors to not just remove existing barriers but encourage and enable greater investment.”
The report points to the difficulties the UK faced in procuring PPE during the pandemic as providing an important lesson for a future conflict. They also say we should move away from politicians talking about percentages of GDP being spent on defence to looking at how that money is spent. A better focus on capabilities and requirements would see this better deployed, and would send clearer demand signals to investors and entrepreneurs.
TechUK also presents the frustration of its members in arguing for a rationalisation of the various support organisations across MOD and government, and for these public sector agencies to ensure they are not building or procuring technology that already exists, or is already obsolete.
We also support their suggestion that government should be outlining problems rather than requirements. Let the innovators respond and innovate, rather than prescribing the solutions. They point to the excellent leadership being taken on this by HMGCC, and reference work by the US DIU in developing a mechanism that “identified the problem, outlined the use requirements, desired solution attributes, and potential obstacles, all in under 700 words.” This is mirrored by their argument that industry and academia need to focus on presenting solutions rather than just technologies. Better engagement with end users can support this.
You can read the full report here.
