ISSUE 156 | AUGUST 2021 AN INSIDE LOOK INTO LIFE AT DEFENCE EQUIPMENT & SUPPORT MERLIN SECURES SPACE STRATEGY HYBRID TECHNOLOGY Highly-skilled jobs DE&S’ key role to play Using green energy 2 desider August 2021 desider August 2021 3 In this issue ForewordBY SIR SIMON BOLLOM SENIOR UK DIRECTOR LEADER4 6SPACE COMMENT DE&S ON MERLIN 8EXPLOITING NEW 10SUPPORTS TECHNOLOGIES THOUSANDS OF JOBS Space, and our assured access to it, is ensure our ability to anticipate and react Enablers, which is coordinating DE&S’ efforts fundamental to the UK’s defence. Not to this rapidly evolving domain. We will across the Space Domain. NEXT-LEVEL FUTURE COMBAT only are satellites and space-based assess how best to harness and develop The emphasis on Space in the Integrated services vital to modern life, but space is skills to respond to future space-related Review and the funding allocated to it in the 12POSEIDON 14AIR SYSTEM increasingly becoming a target for disruption demands as well as continue to forge new Spending Review highlight its importance. in modern warfare. international partnerships and strengthen Defence needs to innovate to stay ahead of TRAINING There is a real and present threat from our existing relationships. Collaborating with other its adversaries: DE&S needs to deliver those adversaries who seek to enhance their military countries, agencies and organisations will innovations, at pace, to offer real operational capabilities in this rapidly evolving domain. improve the resilience of space assets advantage to our clients, and play our part as With the advent of UK Space Command earlier and ensure the long-term sustainability of a key delivery agent. This requires us getting this year, the UK’s capability, development and space activities. cutting edge technology into the hands of the delivery in this area continues to evolve. The creation of UK Space Command is a user as quickly as possible. However, we need As identified in the 2020 Integrated Review, key step in building our operational capability to be much more agile and innovative in how operating within the Space Domain – and the and capacity in this Domain. Space Command we do that. need for the UK to develop suitable capability to is a Joint Command staffed from all three It really is inspiring to think of the possibilities counter threats in this operational environment services, the Civil Service and key members ahead and how space will develop over the next – is essential. Moreover, if we fail to understand of the commercial sector and receives its 50 years. Space continues to be a key sector for how to operate in space or fail to integrate direction from National Space Council via Britain’s future, and I am immensely proud that MULTI-MILLION BOMB DISPOSAL space with all Domains – known as Multi- the Space Directorate within MOD. To enable DE&S will be playing a key role in realising the Domain Integration – as well as our allies and DE&S to effectively support Space Command, potential of UK’s space technology. 16UPGRADE FOR 20ROBOTS DELIVERED partners space capabilities, we will lose our our dedicated Space Delivery Team has been TYPE 45 competitive edge. established to provide a single interface for Over the coming years, DE&S will continue the delivery of new capability. This new team to grow its space expertise as part of the pan- will be part of the Integrated Battlespace MOD delivery of space capabilities. This will Operating Centre (IBOC) within Strategic Cover: Photo by Kyle Heller - 845 Naval Air Squadron conducting a search and rescue of an isolated ‘pilot’ 4 desider August 2021 Experience our SCi-Toolset demo at DSEI – Stand H2-550 SENIOR LEADER COMMENT DECISIVENESS Simon Dakin, DE&S Director THROUGH DATA Integrated Battlespace Talks to Desider about how DE&S will play a key role in the Space Domain The Space Domain is of critical importance to our nation in so many different aspects of our lives. Be it communications, surveillance, Global Positioning Systems, navigation or timing among a multitude of other technologies. It’s easy to take for granted that space underpins a huge range of everyday tasks – both at home and work – that would simply not be possible without space related technology. Rapid technological change is transforming SENIOR LEADER COMMENT the business world and it really is a hugely exciting time to a part of that. It is vital for Defence to keep up, harnessing technologies often developed in the commercial sector, and exploiting them rapidly to ensure the defence of UK interests at home and abroad. However, we should remember that space is both a congested and contested environment. While it’s fabulous to look at new ways of exploiting Information management and space, we also have a key role in defending our capacity to operate. Key to that will be intelligence exploitation tools meaningful and strategic collaboration. As we develop and learn more in this domain INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNISED our focus on collaboration with our clients, Collins Aerospace SCi-Toolset streamlines the production of • U.K. STANAG 4559 CSD Edition 4 industry, international allies, our partners actionable intelligence, helps facilitate timely decision making compliant intelligence product library across government and alongside research and is supported by flexible, cost-effective and experienced establishments, really is fundamental. The in-service support teams. Built on data and sensor agnostic • Supports NATO EPIE and U.S. BICES commercial space sector moves rapidly. With intelligence sharing frameworks DE&S being a key delivery agent for UK Space This is an extremely exciting systems, SCi-Toolset products handle large and complex Command, we must engage the market in a datasets for maritime, land and air operations using high • Supports the UK Royal Navy’s different manner to exploit opportunities and opportunity for defence and I’m performance, effective interoperability and refined simplicity. participation in the NATO Response access a wide range of non-traditional Force defence suppliers. This is an extremely exciting opportunity delighted that DE&S is stepping for defence and I’m delighted that DE&S is collinsaerospace.com/SCi-Toolset stepping forward in our role as a key delivery forward in our role as a key agent. This brings some incredibly interesting opportunities for our people to engage in a delivery agent. new area of critical defence capability. © 2021 Collins Aerospace 9453_MS_SCI-Toolset-V2-Helicopter_DESIDER_FA_ps.indd 1 7/16/21 12:29 PM 9453_MS_SCI-Toolset-V2-Helicopter_DESIDER_FA_ps.indd COLLINS AERO- Trim (Flat Size): 210mm w × 297mm h × 4-color process RGB DIN Next LT Pro Light, Regular Filepath: /Volumes/GoogleDrive/Shared drives/Collins DIN Next Slab Pro Regular Aerospace 2021/_Collins Aerospace Ads/_Mission Systems/ SPACE Bleed: 216mm w × 303mm h (3mm) 4-color process + Spot (Name Pantone colors here) Live Area: 190mm w × 280mm h Minion Pro Regular Sci-Toolset/Version 2 - Helicopter Image/4c Ads/9453_MS_ Folds To: N/A Spot color (Name Pantone colors here) Myriad Pro Bold Condensed, Condensed SCI-Toolset-V2-Helicopter_DESIDER_FA_ps.indd Page #1 Additional Information: N/A 6 desider August 2021 desider August 2021 7 FEATURE Air Vice Marshal Harvey Smyth, UK MOD Director Space Discusses how the UK’s military aerospace capability is changing and the role DE&S must play in exploiting new technologies in the space sphere FEATURE Space is critical to the success of multi-domain Space is such a fast-paced – and now easily accessible FEATURE integration and integrated warfare – it absolutely – environment. We can’t afford to do endless tests and underpins everything we aspire to deliver as part of the concept demonstrations, where more often than not, nascent recently published Defence Command Paper. From a space capability can get stuck and isn’t operationalised for the perspective, the next 10 years are every bit as important end user at the front line. In today’s new Space race, we are – and as exciting – as the 10 years that preceded Neil witnessing small start-up companies turning around trials Armstrong standing on the moon. By 2024, humans will extremely quickly – months, not years – and DE&S must have returned to the Moon. And by 2031, we could very endeavour to emulate this approach, while remaining mindful well witness the first humans landing on Mars. In parallel, of the need for appropriate checks and balances. other hitherto science fiction initiatives will have become It’s crucial that we remain ambitious with the new defence reality, such as asteroid mining for highly precious metals Space programme. We must be more focused, taking like platinum. Such dramatic changes will undoubtedly calculated risks and not be afraid to implement the much provide new and complex challenges for Defence. vaunted ‘fail-fast approach’. To be innovative, we have to Having only stood up in April 2020, MOD’s Space Directorate stretch the boundaries and break through barriers we may not is operating in an environment of constant competition – an traditionally challenge in extant procurement processes. entirely different and evolving landscape from what we’ve What’s key for DE&S is its relationships. Historically we’ve been used to over the past few decades – and if we aspire to concentrated on big primes, but if we are to truly succeed at be globally integrated at the speed of relevance, we must all agile acquisition in the space domain, we need to look across First and foremost, we intend to further deepen our So, with the new Defence Space Programme in place, and recognise that space is the key integrator, alongside being an the whole Space sector. In the past, it would be the norm to Space Domain Awareness capabilities. We must intimately the hard-won funding now profiled to allow us to begin putting operational domain in its own right.