Defence Science Technology Group evolves to meet fresh challenges
The future of Australia’s defence depends on our ability to be on the front foot with capability development. Investing in a strong innovation, science and technology (IS&T) sector is critical to deliver on this intent.
The future of Australia’s defence depends on our ability to be on the front foot with capability development.
Investing in a strong Australian innovation, science and technology (IS&T) sector is critical to deliver on this intent.
As the Chief Defence Scientist, I am responsible for managing the innovation pipeline required to ensure the Australian Defence Force (ADF) is armed with the technology needed to keep our nation safe.
Reflecting on five years in the role, I am immensely proud of how the Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG) has evolved to meet this need.
We have reframed our purpose, reorganised our group, and created a new networked operating model to harness the Australian IS&T ecosystem.
The NAVIGATE Program, designed to attract the best science, technology, engineering and mathematics professionals, now has a bold target of 50 per cent female participation to encourage more women into technical roles.
The Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator (ASCA) is moving at pace to identify and accelerate disruptive solutions to the most pressing challenges faced by the ADF.
Under its three programs of missions, innovation incubation, and emerging and disruptive technologies, ASCA is a license for courage, and heralds a new approach to how we deliver capabilities.
It is the ability to adapt in order to solve problems for the war fighter that has underpinned Defence Science since our organisation’s inception.
Fifty years ago, all of Defence’s research and development programs were united under a single entity, merging a range of deep subject matter expertise primarily valued by government to provide technology risk evaluation on acquisition.
Our role has expanded and evolved over the years, our brilliant workforce integrated with the operations of the military and providing on-the- ground advice. A continued focus moving forward will be increasing our science and technology support for exercises, trials and training.
The ingenuity of our more than 2000 scientists, technologists, engineers and other professionals has been brought into sharper focus as we’ve pivoted with Defence’s strategic policy.
Following the Defence Strategic Review (DSR), we shifted the focus of around a quarter of DSTG’s workforce in just three months.
We now have more than half of our people focused on six priority areas: hypersonics, directed energy, trusted autonomy, quantum technology, information warfare and long-range fires.
Furthermore, the recently launched Defence Industry Development Strategy outlines how IS&T is vital for future Australian Defence Force capability development and our sovereign industrial base.
From identifying and articulating priorities to industry, to rapidly transitioning capabilities into service, pursuing asymmetric advantage will be crucial.
But it’s not just about technology; it’s about considering how to use different means to achieve our goals, and using innovative, cost-effective solutions.
Supporting Defence to acquire leading-edge asymmetric capabilities, such as undersea and airborne autonomous vehicles will be a priority.
We recognise that we can’t succeed alone.
A key theme with our More, Together strategy was deep partnerships across the entire innovation ecosystem. Partnerships that support areas of expertise that contribute to the Defence mission no matter where they lie.
Defence’s approach to innovation is one that unites the national science and technology enterprise to create new relationships and strengthen existing partnerships across government, industry, academia, and beyond.
While we’ve made tangible progress in harnessing the national IS&T base, we acknowledge we still have more work to do to fully leverage it.
To meet this need, the Australian Defence Science, Technology and Research (ADSTAR) Summit is being held in Canberra in September, and will once again bring together the very best of Australia’s research and innovation community to explore the art of the possible.
A forum for curious minds, thought-leaders and experts to come together, we will delve into the latest concepts and emerging technologies that will be used to defend Australia’s interests.
We created ADSTAR 24 to further accelerate the type of collaboration our strategic environment – made increasingly uncertain by rapid technological development – now demands.
It will be the insights shared and partnerships made during this time that result in the vital innovations that will be adopted by the force of the future.
-
Professor Tanya Monro is Australia’s Chief Defence Scientist.
