WHAT INNOVATION MEANS TO DEFENCE

WHAT INNOVATION MEANS TO DEFENCE 

 

Innovation is the lifeblood of defence. Being more capable than your potential adversaries in the art and science of warfare is essential if we are to have a secure Australia, and we need to find innovative solutions in many contexts to overcome the potential disadvantages of a small military and a large country.

We use innovation to do more with less: not only in new technology developments but also in the smart use of all relevant technologies that we adapt so the Australian Defence Force (ADF) can fight and win. This is especially apposite now with the emergence over the last few years of new, non-traditional, methods of warfare. The ADF has an enviable reputation for innovation ranging from the ability of diggers to adapt anything handy to solve a problem in the heat of the moment through to large systems such as the use of over-the-horizon radar to survey our northern approaches.

The organisation that I lead, the Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) is proud to be at the forefront of innovation in Australia's defence. Besides the inherent satisfaction that scientists, technologists and engineers get from coming up with innovative solutions to difficult problems, there is the additional motivation that such solutions are essential to the protection of all of us in these uncertain times.

Dr Roger Lough, chief defence scientist,
Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO)

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