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DSEI Connect

Forces Focus

DSEI Connect

Forces Focus

Directly engage with the UK Front Line Commands through Forces Focus and understand their core challenges through in-person roundtables and online events that bring them together with relevant suppliers. This offers industry a unique opportunity to engage with the end user and assists the MoD in developing their SME and non-traditional supplier base.

Forces Focus provides new perspectives and learning opportunities to
crowd-source solutions for problems and roadblocks that hinder the
development of key programmes and capabilities.

The Front Line Commands for the 2023 programme include the British Army, UK Space Command and Strategic Command, with further Front Line Commands to be announced.

Registration has now closed. Attendees will receive invitations at the start of next week. Keep an eye out in the coming weeks of registration for the online webinar.

 Latest Edition: Optimised Logistics

The future battlefield requires new versatility of sustainment, supply chain optimisation and digital innovation, including enhanced medical support. The British Army is looking for novel and innovative sustainable solutions balanced against future operations. Adopting innovative technologies, commercial and military, at the pace of relevance is critical to achieving a competitive advantage as the British Army modernises and transforms.

Join the in-person roundtables and collaborate with industry representatives across logistic challenges including:

  • Advanced Decision Support
  • Multi-sourcing
  • Increased Self-sufficiency
  • Accelerated Automation
  • Increased Asset Availability
  • Rethinking Packaging
  • Logistics of Power
  • Enhanced Medical Support

Listen to the Army's Challenge to Industry

Advanced Decision Support

The ability to make accurate, data driven, Artificial Intelligence enabled support decisions at faster speeds will provide a competitive advantage on the battlefield. This roundtable will consider how the Army can leverage decision support tools to make effective logistic decisions to directly influence the Army’s ability to fight and win. Specifically, it will discuss how to exploit data to enable predictive sustainment and asset visibility in an extended battlefield, and how to utilise end-to-end logistics information to increase flexibility and resilience. Key is how, even when operating within GPS denied and degraded environments, the Army can optimise data collection, transmission, storage, and exploitation.

Multi-Sourcing

Sustaining armies on operations requires significant amounts of ammunition and other supplies such as fuel and spare parts. The production lead times for some of these goods can be extensive, while holding large stockpiles can be vulnerable and costly. Similarly, moving an Army leads to a surge in transportation demand. Reliance on single sources of supply or transport modes provides a risk. Therefore, the Army needs to ensure to have alternate sources of supply that can ramp up to the volumes or capacity needed. This challenge to industry is how the Army can utilise multi-sourcing to enhance efficiency while maintaining delivery assurance. How can multi-sourcing be used to reduce stockpiling or incorporate scalable support and transportation capacity?

Increased Self-sufficiency

Sustainment is the responsibility of all within the Army: reduced consumption increases periods that units can operate independently allowing greater operational flexibility and endurance. If units are more self-reliant, this preserves overall logistic capacity as it reduces the need to move supplies forward. This roundtable will look at areas how the Army could improve self-sufficiency: are there smart ways to reduce the demand or volume in the supply chain? And what kind of next generation technologies would allow the Army to generate resources at the point of need such as food, water, and energy?

Accelerated Automation

This roundtable will discuss how can the Army exploit robotic technology and automation, as force multiplier, to replace the human in the delivery of repetitive, dirty, or dangerous support tasks. By removing humans from the battlefield, the intent is to improve the resilience, endurance, and speed of the sustainment system. Is it possible to automate distribution hubs, unloading processes and delivery systems to speed up supply effectively? And in what ways can logistic hubs be protected autonomously?

Increased Asset Availability

Improved vehicle and equipment reliability will reduce the burden on the supply chain. This roundtable will specifically discuss how the Army can improve its platform and vehicle availability using intelligent on-board systems, enabling predictive failure prediction and optimise maintenance. Related to this, what kind of capabilities would enhance repair further forward, for example through digital twins, or Virtual Reality aided maintenance? Equally, how could the Army leverage autonomous or remotely repair and recover?

Rethinking Packaging

This roundtable will look at how the Army can adopt of smart, reusable, or dual use packaging materials to eliminate waste and optimise flow in the supply chain. Military supplies are often packaged and transported without much consideration about their volumetric efficiency. A key question is thus how innovative and sustainable packaging or load configurations can optimise transportation capacity and enhance handling options throughout the support network from the warehouse to the last mile. Moreover, can smart-packaging technologies provide near real-time updates on its condition and location?

Logistics of Power

Land capabilities will become increasingly power hungry with the introduction of new systems such as novel weapons, active protection, and the increase in computer processing. The performance and effectiveness of these new capabilities is dependent on the ability to power, charge and sustain them. This roundtable will specifically look at how the Army can replenish power to electrified sub-systems at the required operational tempo. Are there any novel ways to produce power further forward to reduce demand and the risk of delivery?

Enhanced Medical Support

Whilst dispersal will increase the Army’s ability to survive on the battlefield, for those that become casualties their treatment and evacuation becomes more difficult. How can the British Army mitigate the negative effects that a dispersed battlefield has on medical care, in terms of increased medical timelines as soldiers operate at greater distances from medical treatment? What kind of novel solutions could extend endurance, knowledge, and flexibility, and reach of medical personnel to enhance medical support?
Challenge to Industry

Challenge to Industry

The first step of the Forces Focus programme is a Challenge to Industry. During the course of this video, Brig. Matt Cansdale, Head of Future Force Development, explains the challenges the British Army are currently facing, and why they want input from industry to provide innovative solutions

Watch Full Video

Live Roundtable Discussions

Live Roundtable Discussions

Accept the British Army's challenge through an exclusive in-person roundtable event gathering over 40 industry representatives. The discussions will address the different aspects of optimised logistics, enabling industry and provide thorough discussion and useful solutions

Date: 20 February 2023, London

Online Webinar

Online Webinar

In the third month of the programme, the British Army will come together for an online webinar discussion covering the key points raised during the live roundtable.

Registration for the webinar will be free.

 

Date: Coming Soon

Previous Forces Focus Editions

Dstl and Sustainability & Climate Change

Climate Change is a threat to every part of society, and Defence is no different. Even if net zero targets are met and we’re able to hold global temperature increases to +1.5 degrees, the world will look and feel very different. The MOD may face conflict in new areas, with new adversaries and be forced to fight in different ways. 

To maintain operation advantage in a climate changed world, Defence will need to harness innovation to adapt and mitigate the key risks associated with climate change. Right through from assessing and predicting the problem space, to delivering solutions that will keep our battle winning edge.

CONTINUE READING

Royal Air Force and Human Machine Teaming

Human Machine Teaming (HMT) is the effective integration of humans, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and robotics into warfighting systems. Rapid technological advances in these areas will combine to enable HMT to transform the future battlespace by accelerating the speed with which systems, commanders and warfighters can Sense, Decide and Effect. HMTs will revolutionise not only the equipment with which we fight but how we fight across the spectrum of conflict and levels of command. It is vital that the discussion start now before someone else gets the upper hand.

CONTINUE READING

Royal Navy and AI

The new Maritime Operating Concept that they have developed requires a step-change in networked and distributed sensors to enhance operational modular capability.  Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning are a critical aspect of development, providing rapid intelligence analysis and decision advantage.  They will enable a modular, flexible and interchangeable capability which is both more agile and more efficient. This Forces Focus event was the industry's opportunity to understand the objectives and target specific areas to engage with, ensuring maximum impact from their solutions. 

CONTINUE READING

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