MARITIME 4.0, SPACE, AUTONOMOUS VESSELS, DRIVING INNOVATION

Aerospace and defence manufacturers are at the forefront of incorporating advanced technologies into their operations to stay ahead of hostile threats.

Technology will be at the forefront of the defence sector from 2023 onwards. New technologies such as 3D printing and Maritime 4.0 are increasing manufacturing efficiency and asset readiness, the use of autonomous military vehicles will extend to sea and new frameworks are allowing data to be gathered for the next frontier, that is space. Despite some macrolevel economic and geopolitical headwinds, the outlook for the defence industry is buoyant in 2023.

Defence forces, aerospace and defence manufacturers, defence contractors are at the forefront of incorporating advanced technologies into their operations to stay ahead of hostile threats, while ensuring military logistics exploit new technologies to the fullest.

88% senior industry executives report that the general business outlook for the aerospace and defence industry for the next year is somewhat to very positive. The driving forces behind this outlook include growth in new technologies and segments, evolving business models in areas such as space, and the use of digital thread and smart factories. All these factors should help the industry grow and create new markets in the coming year.

3d Printing

Additive m anufacturing is coming of age to become a base protocol for over 50% of aerospace and defence manufacturers in 2023 and will help minimise logistics footprint and reduce carbon emissions. 3D printing is being increasingly used in theatre by military forces to help with quick repairs of vehicles, ships, and aircraft. Even new safety equipment and medical supplies are being designed and prototyped for use by military forces.

Growth in the use of 3D printing in the defence industry is not expected to slow down any time soon—75% of industry leaders expect 3D printing to become a base protocol within the global defence industry in the next ten years. The ability to 3D print replacement parts and components when and often, where required, allows for military forces to be more selfsufficient and reduces maintenance wait time. Research shows that having to rely on external suppliers can normally add up to 25 days, critical in times of battle and when hostile forces may try to cut off supply lines. This will minimise the logistics footprint of forward operating bases.

MARITIME 4.0

Maritime 4.0 is beginning to show benefits in terms of improved efficiency when designing, manufacturing, and constructing ships with better coordination, clearer operations, and maintenance. Despite only being in the adoption stage of its journey, the digital shipyard market is expected to experience rapid growth.

Global professional services firm Lloyd’s Register sees the shipbuilding value chain may be empowered to make better decisions and deliver smarter assets by sharing and integrating data from the influx of new artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Autonomous Vessels

Autonomous ships will reduce the number of war fighters sailing into danger when out on missions as they allow for ships to enter areas that were previously seen as either dangerous or inaccessible for manned ships, to gain vital intelligence. No longer having the requirement to house personnel means bigger payload capacity,

Key Takeaways

l The driving forces include growth in new technologies, evolving business models in areas such as space, and the use of digital thread and smart factories.

l These factors should help the industry grow and create new markets in the coming year.

l Autonomous ships will reduce the number of war fighters sailing into danger.

l Space is becoming increasingly de-militarised, and the market is expected to take off over the next couple of years.

including more fuel, allowing for longer deployments or more sensors for advanced surveillance.

There is increased criticality of proper ship autonomous self-monitoring across systems, and failure projections will need to be embedded within the design to predict and plan for downtime. Without manned inspections, on-board self-diagnostics and monitoring systems must connect to the broader digital twin ecosystem, a level of automation that cannot be met by yesterday’s systems and processes.

SPACE

Space is becoming increasingly de-militarised, and the market is expected to take off over the next couple of years. It is currently being used to navigate and track forces to avoid detection when delivering supplies or allow for precise strikes on hostile bases, and to improve communication and detect potential threats.

The race is on to get ahead in a more militarised space domain—and intergovernmental organisations such as NATO are getting priorities in order as military forces gear up for increasing reliance on spacedriven operations.

Data Breaches

Over 50% of companies will be involved in a data breach reinforcing the importance of cybersecurity as we look to enable these advancements. Increasing reliance on digital technologies to manufacture, operate and support military equipment opens up more potential vulnerabilities to cyberattacks. New autonomous vessels, new digital manufacturing principles, and new operating environments also come with greater cyber risk.

An important requirement is for underlying software to ensure all assets and manufacturing process have the highest levels of cyber security. The software must be able to detect, report, and solve security problems and ensure, in the case of an attack, all systems are still functioning and secure.

The outlook for the defence industry in 2023 is very positive with the development of four emerging areas of new technologies and operations set to impact defence forces, aerospace and defence manufacturers, and defence contractors. However, all these developments will require a strong and secure digital backbone, with cyber security assured to make certain that this increased digitisation does not mean critical data is breached by hostile forces. n