DEFENCE
How COVID-19 is accelerating digital change for defence organisations For many, the pandemic has fast-forwarded digital transformation, with some organisations claiming to have completed years’ worth of transformations in a matter of weeks, explains Matt Medley, Senior Product Manager, IFS.
A Senior Product Manager at IFS, Matthew Medley is a graduate of the US Air Force Academy. He served as a Major in the US Air Force, compiling over 2,500 flight hours in C-130 aircraft. He holds the FAA Airline Transport Pilot and Certified Flight Instructor ratings.
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Despite having a reputation for being rigid and adhering to long-standing traditions, military organisations must be flexible in order to continue operations in a socially distant manner with thousands of personnel working from home, troops still deployed overseas, others building emergency hospitals, delivering PPE, and providing much needed emergency backup – and technology has been the key enabler. In fact, they have been marching at the double. In a recent interview, senior figures in the UK military forces explained how the organisation had cut back heavily on bureaucratic processes, and in their words “hit the accelerate button” on programs to take advantage of emerging trends and technology. The Royal Air Force (RAF) has expedited 3D Printing, rapidly making operations leaner. The Royal Navy sees the current environment as the springboard for digital transformation programs across the board: people, the estate, and the support systems for ships. Global military organisations responded to the pandemic by looking to increase investments in digital infrastructure. The US Department of Defense is currently trialling 5G technology to optimise military operations using transformational technologies like augmented reality in MRO, and training and Australia has invested in research to develop new manufacturing technologies for the Hunter Class Frigate Program.
This initiative developed in collaboration between military, industry, and academia, is aimed at providing replacement frigates optimised for anti-submarine warfare. The work will underpin a dramatic change in the way shipyards are planned and managed by enabling valuable integrated data insights across the entire supply chain. As the new goes on parade, the old gets serious inspection Militaries are not alone in their technology adoption. Recent IFS research highlighted the central role digital transformation is now playing within organisations despite – but more likely because of –the economic challenges that have accompanied the pandemic. Over 50 percent of respondents across multiple industries are looking to increase their spend on digital transformation going forward in response to the pandemic. We can also see, for the defence industry, that the pandemic has not only accelerated the implementation of technology, but it has offered a chance to call outdated processes into question. COVID-19 has created the opportunity to step back and reevaluate operations, and there will be a number of advances in the defence industry in the wake of the pandemic. For military organisations, I believe there are four key areas where we can see the current business and economic effects of the pandemic acting as a catalyst for technology change. Line of Defence
