The needs of the modern Armed Forces and the pace of technological change have revolutionised
the Civil Defence industry. Only the flexible and imaginative need apply.
Official documents may describe it as a forward air traffic control centre, but
in reality it's a Portakabin perched on the edge of a makeshift airstrip. Those
inside face the constant threat of enemy attach and protective clothing is a must.
So when forward air traffic controllers in Iraq discovered that their radio headsets
were too bulky to wear under a helmet, finding a solution was potentially a matter
of life and death.
The task fell to Racal Acoustics, a British defence engineering firm employing around
190 people. "Within two weeks our rapid prototyping lab had adapted, tested, manufactured
and shipped a headset that could be warn under a helmet," says Michael Stembridge,
Racal's head of engineering. "Today's customers want rapid delivery of protoypes
and samples so we have a designated laboratory, which is where we developed the
headset."
Such quick responses may not be what is expected from a defence industry better
known for taking a decade to develop a submarine or jet fighter. But they are becoming
increasingly common through a combination of commercial rivalry and the pressures
of active operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"The speed and adaptability of our current opponents is massive," says Giles Cowling,
from the MoD's Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL). "The can develop
new threats very quickly, so our watchwords now are flexibility and responsiveness."
A degree of lateral thinking may be required according to Cowling. To protect a
vehicle from roadside bombs, for example, engineers could add more armour plating.
But, in order to calculate the optimum positioning and thickness they may need to
know where the bomb is likely to be placed and what it might be made of. An alternative
solution could be a bomb detection device. But how will this be fitted and how will
the troops use it?
Thinking more laterally still, would it be better to deploy unmanned reconnaissance
aircraft to sniff out the enemy before it can detonate, or even place a bomb? And
once the unmanned place has located a target, can the information be interpreted
in real time to direct a missile strike from a fighter aircraft or armoured vehicle
that may be miles away from a target?
Defence engineers call this "systems thinking": combining elements so that the while
is greater than the sum of its parts.
"It takes a special kind of teamwork to make it a success," says Cowling, "with
people who adopt a flexible approach with different engineering disciplines."
To speed up development defence firms are adopting "lean systems engineering" techniques,
which were first developed by the automotive industry. "We want to really understand
the requirement and deliver that and nothing else, cutting out all the waste in
the process," says Keith Williams, Managing Director of British defence software
firm Praxis High Integrity Systems. The approach enables an aircraft's weapon systems
to be certified in weeks rather than months.
Systems engineering can be applied to the largest projects. "The key is to break
a complex system into manageable parts," says Paul Stein, the MoD's science and
technology director. "If you do this right, the cost of inserting new technology
during the system's life drops considerably." This will enable new fighting platforms
like Eurofighter or the FRES armoured vehicle to remain at the cutting edge for
a decade or more.
Another key change in the defence market is support for the whole of a system's
life. "Today's defence customer is focused on buying capability, not products, so
it's expected that the provider will support a system through its operational life,"
says Mike Simms, vice-president for account management at aerospace and defence
giant EADS.
Maintenance and enhancements can account for 70 per cent of the lifetime value of
a contract, and support obligations mean the supplier's staff may have to travel
anywhere in the world, including into combat zones.
The effect on defence suppliers can be profound. "You're creating a complete business
enterprise that maintains and supports the system through its entire life," says
Williams.
First appearing in The Daily Telegraph, Thursday 22 November 2007. (This report
was by Paul Bray and is copyright of The Daily Telegraph)
About Praxis
Praxis is a systems engineering company specialising in safety and mission
critical applications. Praxis leads the world in specific areas of advanced systems
engineering such as: ultra low defect software engineering, safety engineering for
complex or novel systems, and tools/methods for systems engineering. Praxis offers
clients a range of services including turnkey systems development, consultancy,
training and R&D. Key market sectors are Aerospace, Defence, Air Traffic Management,
Railways and Nuclear. The company operates internationally with active projects
in the US, Asia and Europe. The headquarters of Praxis are in Bath (UK) with offices
also in London, Loughborough and Paris. It is wholly owned by Altran Technologies
which is a global leader in innovation engineering and employs 18, 500 staff across
the world.
www.altran-praxis.com
Press contacts:
Altran Praxis
press@altran-praxis.com
Speed Communications
altran-praxis@speedcommunications.com
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