A systems engineering approach to building Australia’s accelerated warfighting capability
Nov 22
3 min read
Outcomes based, sovereign owned engineering support Defence planning in Australia is undergoing big changes. We’re embarking on rapid modernisation where capability, competitiveness, innovation and resilience are central.
With a key focus on simplifying and accelerating processes, ‘speed to capability’ and ‘minimum viable capability’ are terms in Defence that have become the norm.
The need for speed
Defence wants to speed up our military capabilities and address operational gaps. This highly publicised push has been made a priority in recent Defence reviews and strategic documents.
Speaking at this year’s Capability Symposium, Vice Admiral David Johnston, AC, RAN, Vice Chief of the Defence Force, gave an update on Australia’s accelerated capability development. He indicated there’s not only a focus on speed, but also adopting minimum viable capability.
“We need to abandon the pursuit of the perfect solution or process and focus on timely and relevant capability delivery,” Vice Admiral Johnston said.
The role of the local industry
But rapidly developing applicable military capabilities requires a strong sovereign defence industry. And if we want sovereign integrity to protect our national interests, it's imperative for Defence to support, grow and sustain our local defence industrial base.
Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy reinforced this when speaking at the 2024 ASPI Defence Conference.
“Defence will become a much more active partner with industry, supporting businesses to increase their scale and competitiveness to enable them to deliver the Sovereign Defence Industrial Priorities,” Minister Conroy said.
Accelerating delivery in systems engineering
Test and evaluation, certification and systems assurance (T&ECSA) was named by the government as one of the Sovereign Defence Industrial Priorities. Crossing all elements of the capability lifecycle, it’s arguable T&ECSA is the most critical.
A changing defence environment requires more sophisticated military capabilities. As a result, we're seeing more complex, highly networked, warfighting platforms. It's essential we ensure these platforms and systems are fit-for-purpose. And delivering this at speed and with minimised risk is imperative.
In an ever-evolving landscape, how can we expect a stretched ADF to deliver a T&ECSA capability without industry support and expertise? And how can the local industrial base best partner with Defence to support a sovereign capability? It centres on rapid, risk-reducing systems engineering.
Taking an accelerated capability assurance approach
Bringing industry in early in the capability lifecycle supports rapid, informed, evidence-based decision making. Industry knowledge and skill combined with Defence’s steadfast focus on delivering relevant capabilities at speed leads to a more agile system.
How does this play out? Working in partnership, a robust accelerated capability assurance (ACA) approach best addresses the delivery of ‘minimum viable capabilities’ to the men and women of the ADF.
Adopting this model provides significant benefits to both Defence and industry:
Grows Australia’s Defence Industrial base
Creates efficiencies in Defence procurement and risk-reduction activities
Takes pressure off an ADF and APS with limited capacity by placing the risks where industry can best address
Uplifts ADF and APS skills and knowledge
Reduces the risk of Joint Force interoperability early
Mitigates risk of defect resolution cost (the earlier a defect is found the lesser the cost)
Enhances Defence’s reputation as a client of choice
Equips and establishes the future Defence and Defence industry workforce.
Ultimately, it’s about Defence and industry working as true sovereign partners with a common aim: delivering on the government’s push to speed up our military capabilities while enhancing our national security.
Brad Junk-Gibson is an expert in the delivery of complex integrated systems. He is the CEO of specialist technical services company, Crown Management Consultants.
