Supporting the procurement process
Dstl provides a wide range of science and technology advice to the Integrated Project Teams within the Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S), across all stages of the acquisition process. Most of the support we provide involves identifying equipment options to fill capability gaps and advising on how to most effectively utilise and sustain those capabilities.
Our impartial position as part of the MOD team allows Dstl unique access to national and international partners within governments, militaries, industry and academia. As a result, Dstl has the ability to offer integrated advice across the full spectrum of capabilities and at all levels.
An example of this is our support to the Future Aircraft Carrier, where we carried out a comprehensive programme of work. This included analysing the policy implications of the future capability, studying how MOD might smooth the peaks and troughs in the demands on the UK shipbuilding industry, assessing the level of technical risk in the programme and developing simulation software to explore operational concepts and tactics for the Future Joint Combat Aircraft.
Such work draws upon our systems expertise and requires us to not only consider the technical capabilities of a piece of equipment but how other considerations such as training and logistics will affect the overall capability. Taking such a holistic view enables Dstl to play a powerful role in ensuring that MOD develops the necessary capabilities for the future.