In order to effectively act and adapt at the speed of relevance, mission agility is key for modern forces. New, networked technologies must therefore be integrated into traditional military systems to enable personnel to respond to evolving threats at the pace required.
However, while industry is keen to collaborate and support forces to become as agile as possible, this urgency doesn’t quite match the ability of the UK Armed Forces to adopt such technologies. At present, industry is poised to help enhance mission agility with future-ready, next-generation solutions, informed by lessons from Ukraine, but the acquisition system does not appear to be agile enough to leverage this at the pace of relevance.
This was a theme addressed by guest speaker Fred Hargreaves OBE, Director Strategy and Engagement for L3Harris during a panel discussion at the Royal United Services Institute’s (RUSI) Land Warfare Conference this week.
“The training of personnel and the understanding of today’s threats have unquestionably evolved, as evidenced by the excellent Land Operating Concept,” Hargreaves said. “However, Defence is largely stuck in a traditional acquisition system which is no longer fit-for-purpose, so is not enabled to equip and adapt at pace.”
Inform, Integrate, Innovate
The panel posed the question: ‘How can industry equip and support the force at the speed of relevance?’ and centred around the need for the correct structures, frameworks, and relationships across industry and the military in order to accelerate the capability to fight and deter in the short term. In answer to this, Hargreaves suggested a three-pillar approach would ensure industry can effectively equip and support UK forces at pace, and make best use of rising defence budgets in the UK and across allies.
“For collaboration between industry and Army to truly be successful and accelerate capabilities into the hands of users, there are ultimately three pillars of responsibility that we in the private sector should think about,” Hargreaves said. “However, the responsibility doesn’t solely lie with industry – there is a strong onus on Defence to actively help develop the required collaborative DNA, both with and between industry.”
Inform
Hargreaves emphasised the importance of being an “honest friend” and explained industry needs to be as open and informative as possible with regards to the latest, emerging technological advances to ensure forces are fully aware of the capabilities available to them. He further suggested, “the perception of being too close to industry is probably the biggest blocker that prevents industry from equipping and supporting Army at the speed of relevance.” It is also important for UK forces to take the time to reflect on their own current state of play and evaluate what good looks like by working with allies and wider countries, ensuring the right route forward is taken for the nation. Lessons from recent global conflicts are critical to shaping this future direction.
Integrate
Hargreaves advocated the fourth component of multidomain integration must be industry, and remarked this has even recently been viewed as a sixth domain. He noted industry must play a key role in encouraging forces to adopt a systems mindset in the continued bid to achieve true multidomain integration, ultimately enabling greater mission agility and adaptability within the modern battlespace. Forces should also seek opportunities to improve their collaborative DNA by working closely with partners to develop the right habits in line with military efforts to “train as they fight”, ahead of the next conflict.
- Innovate
“To really capitalise on innovation, industry needs to be an integral part of the conversation and action,” Hargreaves said. He continued to state innovation can only occur by gaining a better, more consistent understanding of the needs and challenges of users. A constant dialogue between Army and industry is therefore required to build and deliver solutions that satisfy those needs. UK forces should consider initiating competitions to aid this, allowing them to collate a plethora of good ideas from a diverse range of businesses and refine their requirements through open, frequent conversations. What’s more, in such a fast-paced and ever-evolving industry, trusting a blend of SMEs, non-traditional defence companies, dual-use commercial companies and Primes to partner together to achieve such innovation is now a necessity.
The panel consisted of a compelling line-up of military and business leaders aiming to provide their valuable insights into how industry can best enable forces to adapt at the speed of relevance.
Chaired by Shashank Joshi, Defence Editor for The Economist, the panellists joining Hargreaves were:
- Lieutenant General David Eastman MBE, Deputy Chief of General Staff
- Richard Holroyd, CEO, Capita
- Chris Sylvan, Business Development Director, Anduril UK
Project Everest: Capabilities Available Today
L3Harris helps the UK Armed Forces keep its people safe, protect its most sensitive data, assets and infrastructure, and always stay a step ahead of the adversary. In 2023, L3Harris led Project EVEREST, a collaborative experiment with industry partners designed to show the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) how soldiers could benefit from technologies available today through demonstrations of live, real-time mission scenarios. To learn more about Project EVEREST, visit here.
