Defence industry can accelerate capability to the frontline

Defence industry must work more closely with the ADF to invent and supply new technologies, and also use our home-grown innovation to determine how we get new capability to the frontline sooner.

Gary Stewart, Qinetiq chief executive Australian Sector, says Australia will play an important role in the test and evaluation function for defence

There are few people today who would argue that the world is not experiencing a deterioration in its security. Conflicts are either increasing or the risk of them are stark. At the same time, technology is rapidly evolving and is being adopted to modernise armed forces, presenting new threats to nations and their militaries.

Australia is not immune to this, with every element of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) requiring investment to upgrade, replace or deliver something new to provide a capability edge. Whether it is the traditional domains of air, land and sea, or the relatively new theatres of cyber and space, our capability must be advanced if we are to respond to this rapidly changing environment.

As the threat increases and transforms, it is clear we cannot wait 10 or 20 years for the transformation of the ADF, and instead must accelerate the delivery of greater capability faster than we have before. The protection of our armed forces and the prosperity of our people is at stake if we don’t.

Australia’s defence industry has an increasing role to play in speeding up the delivery of capability to the frontline.

The sector today employs more than 65,000 people across over 5,000 businesses, and their skills and expertise are essential to generating the ideas and innovation that’s needed.

QinetiQ is a key part of that: It has worked alongside the ADF for more than 15 years and today employs over 850 people in Australia across 10 sites.

But more can be done. Defence industry must work more closely with the ADF to invent and supply new technologies, and use our homegrown innovation to determine how we get new capabilities to the frontline sooner. This won’t happen by chance, but instead will require a combination of incentivising speed, an acceptance of the need to fail or succeed fast, the sharing of risk between industry and defence and the need to increasingly collaborate beyond our borders.

One area of expertise I am convinced that we already do and will play an increasing role is what we refer to as test and evaluation. Whether it is evaluating underwater warfare technology, proving the safety and performance of guided weapons, or developing laser-directed weapons, test and evaluation is integral to ensuring the ADF’s kit is safe and works as intended. It is integral to the capability of every platform and system and also to how the Joint Force can integrate these systems to work effectively as one.

The opportunity for Australia is to get better at test and evaluation. Better means using the most advanced technology and skills to ensure that what we have works across the Integrated Joint Force, that it protects our service men and women, and that it is in their hands quicker.

Better means investing in the training of our people. Today QinetiQ employs more than 240 test and evaluation practitioners in Australia, and our Test and Evaluation Sovereign Skills Program is providing practitioners with hands-on experience in the UK across a range of trials environments.

Better means investing in infrastructure that enables more effective test and evaluation. This includes the greater use of digital methods and synthetic ranges, deployable infrastructure and the ability to test next-generation and multi-domain capabilities. This requires a deep understanding and experience of international practices and deploying what is best suited for Australia’s needs.

Better means investing in ecosystems that enable the ADF to bridge the gap between concept and reality. At QinetiQ we have done just that, creating purposeful centres including our Technology and Engineering Centre in Melbourne, our QinetiQ Air Affairs Advanced Manufacturing Centre in Nowra and our highly sophisticated QLabs in Adelaide.

Better also means creating opportunities that empower academia to get support in driving groundbreaking innovation to become reality. This is the approach QinetiQ is taking with the work we do with the University of Melbourne’s Creator Space where our experienced engineers work with students to advance their early concepts.

Ultimately, the defence industry has to do things differentlyto accelerate capability to the frontline, whether it is introducing disruptive technology, delivering new kit or upgrading our existing platforms. The need for a capability edge is here and we as a nation must step up.

Gary Stewart is chief executive Australian Sector – QinetiQ.