Networkcentricity 'vision or nightmare'

By Henry Wilson, DSD's contributing reporter

"Networkcentricity", the concept to improve the situational awareness of battlefield commanders through the fusion of continuous and multi-faceted streams of data, has been the tag word of the moment for the UK's defence strategy. However, the rub lies in converting the theory into effective and efficient practice.

"Is it a vision or is it a nightmare?" contends Gareth Evans of A.T. Kearney, the management-consulting subsidiary of EDS. The problem as he sees it, is that Networkcentricity is "hugely consuming of resources". "It is a hungry beast," said Evans.

While the US is prepared, and more importantly capable of throwing its enormous financial resources behind the concept, the UK and the other European countries do not have this luxury. They must pick and choose which of the 21st Century platforms that conform to the capabilities Networkcentricity requires are viable under the three-pronged requirement of capability, appropriateness, and affordability.

Therein lies the problem for the UK. While it has the advantage of being able to cherry pick to some extent the best military programmes from its ally over the pond and those on the continent, the UK is in danger of over reaching itself and therefore not fulfilling basic requirements. At the moment, the A400M, the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), the Eurofighter Typhoon, and the CVF "Future Carrier" are all jostling for financial position, while infantry soldiers on the ground do not even have a reliable rifle.

"The time comes to take stock and make difficult choices," said Gareth Evans at Farnborough. "There is a Eurofighter flying around out there without an operational missile," a reference to the currently stalled Meteor project.

Britain's Eurofighter quota could be slashed in order to give the Ministry of Defence (MoD) sufficient funds for the significant commitment needed for the CVF to see water. However, the MoD must first decide which variant of aircraft it wants the carrier to support.

For its part EDS is currently working on product life cycle management, ways to oil the cogs that make major projects turn and by creating partnerships lower the ever spiraling development costs of massive undertakings like the JSF. The company is working toward tightening supply chain links in order to lower time scales and therefore costs through the life of a programme.

The spate of recent governmental announcements revealing growing defence budgets, led as ever by the Americans, have inevitably led to massed pricking of ears around global defence contractors. Nor has it gone unnoticed by those companies more traditionally associated with commercial aerospace. However, according to Evans any European company expecting defence spending to pick up the slack for the flagging airline industry will be disappointed.

"US defence spending will go to US companies with only leakage around the supply chain for the Europeans," he said. With regard to European companies muscling in on their US counterparts he added, "You will open the market as long as [European] companies take on an American hue. It is not as simple as just reaching across the pond."

Defence spending is in a state of flux and the UK has a number of unresolved issues to work through if it is afford to strike on to achieve Networkcentricity and remain at least a semi-global power. EDS and A.T. Kearney may be very busy oiling cogs for some time to come.

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