Spending Review 20 - Defence R&D Proposition Outcomes

Defence is aiming to pivot into a more agile, technologically advanced organisation that can develop and exploit technology at a faster rate than others. The R&D Proposition addresses 5 key challenges (identified in the S&T Strategy) by introducing pipelines of coordinated and coherent R&D activities spanning the technological readiness levels. These are based around:

Spearheads – Rapidly fielding current technology

Gamechangers – Accelerating the next generation of technology

S&T Portfolio – primarily investing in generation after next research.

While Miles was keen to stress that research will be balanced to ensure Defence  invest in both longer term research as well as pulling through mature technologies.  The SR uplift R&D investment will be focused on those priority capability challenges where investment in R&D can have the greatest impact. Addressing these challenges offers high potential to deliver decisive strategic edge or operational advantage in a future operating environment and where Defence must deter adversaries and respond across a broad threat spectrum, including sub-thresholds and high-end conventional war. The challenges that the SR Uplift funding will focus on are:

1. Pervasive full spectrum, multi-domain intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR)
2. Multi-domain Command & Control, Communications and Computers (C4)
3. Secure and sustain advantage in the sub-threshold
4. Asymmetric hard power
5. Freedom of Access and manoeuvre

The funding profile remained fluid throughout the Spending Review and at various stages the R&D proposition was revised according to evolving strategic direction and planning scenarios. The final options are sized and shaped to meet Defence’s priority challenges, to ensure the proposition conducted novel S&T that prepared Defence to develop the Generation After Next capability. The funded activities must  show  demonstrable impact by the end of year four of this strategic review period (FY24/25) whilst enabling a 10 year plan.

R&D SR Proposition £1.1bn over 4 years starting in FY21/22

As part of the £6.6bn (this is the minimum Defence will invest in R&D) total that will be spent on R&D£1.1bn has been allocated to the R&D Proposition. This is split into the following:

1. £560m to Research in Science & Technology Challenge Pipelines

• £147m for Pervasive, full-spectrum, multi-domain ISR
• £100m for secure and sustain advantage in the sub-threshold
• £120m for multi-domain C4
• £192m for Asymmetric hard power

2. £550m for Development

• £210m for Spearheads
• £325m for Game Changers
• £18m for Access Mentoring & Finance

Alongside this there is a wider programme of R&D activities including £740m per annum budget for the wider S&T portfolio, equally split between a core S&T Research Programme and Command Funded R&T Research.

Turning the proposition into a portfolio

Towards the end of the presentation the following processes were highlighted as to how they were to turn these propositions into a portfolio:

S&T Portfolio

• SR funding incorporated into existing S&T Portfolio
• Broken into 16 projects under extant programmes within the S&T Portfolio
• Each project mandate identifies spend profile, outputs, outcomes, tolerances
• Monthly reporting in line with current S&T Portfolio processes
• Aggregated benefits Framework Developed

Spearheads

• Spearhead activities already running
• SR funding complements existing funding lines
• Clare Cameron remains SRO for Spearheads
• Future Capability Group overseeing the Spearheads portfolio

Gamechangers

• Gamechanger funding controlled by DIU and released to delivery teams in relevant Defence organisations
• Each Gamechanger will adopt own commercial approach
• MDIS and Space gamechangers likely to run industry events in coming months.