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Future warfare demands solutions that are sustainable, effective and resilient. But what will it take to accelerate new technologies and to reorient the defence enterprise towards building climate-resilience into business as usual?

Here are our thoughts on three hypotheses that we explored:

1. Defence sustainability exists to deliver long term operational effectiveness

The world is changing. We need to understand how the environment and energy systems are changing. Only then can defence plan future capability that is resilient to the threats that it will face. Moreover, political pressures and the context of wider society must be taken into account. Without considering scenarios of macro-resilience across national and international arenas, specific and imminently urgent needs cannot be identified. In particular, access to energy and water where and when it is needed is critical. As such, we need environmental intelligence and energy security insights to become instinctive.

More broadly, with pan government, enterprise-wide collaboration, the insights gained can be used to reinforce national resilience. Valid data, applied to defence and security, is essential. Academia is well placed to research these complex interconnected systems and how they will change over time. Together, academia, industry and defence can apply findings to develop future scenarios that make challenges more tangible and visible. From there, we can build resilience strategies that empower decision makers. This will lead to questions such as, “what if we could recharge a drone remotely, over long distances?” For instance, in Australia there is a vital awareness that a national security strategy is needed. This can harmonise and synchronise all elements of national power including the industrial base.

Do we need a new definition of ‘value’ in defence? We need to bring resilience over time to the fore, in addition to normal metrics of cost and capability. In this way, climate change, environment and sustainability professionals can use their expertise to build resilient operational advantage.

In parallel to the challenges of preparing defence for climate resilience is the ongoing regulatory, public and moral imperative to mitigate damage to our planet. This demands action to minimise emissions, energy use and environmental damage in all activities. Not taking action has physical and societal implications. For example, will future workforce be willing to support, develop, drive or maintain diesel powered platforms?

2. Accelerate new technologies by focussing on operational effectiveness and efficiency and planning for gaps in funding

Successful deep tech development (solutions not built on another existing technology) requires a compelling vision and plan. The vision can draw people in through brand or concept association, beyond product specifics. There is a need to recognise that there may be gaps and sporadic pace changes in funding, meaning many successful start-ups cannot rely only on defence for investment.

Scientific development is not enough. Technologies must be lifted to create new capabilities, integrated into viable ways of working, which achieve goals that may not yet have been conceived. Each stage requires a different set of skills. This has implications for every organisation in the defence ecosystem. Within defence, for instance, there is a need hand over innovation challenges to a suitably skilled team and to re-operationalise new solutions as they emerge.

‘Climate tech’ entrepreneurs succeed with some audiences by focussing on environmental benefits. For defence applications, solutions will be evaluated first for their benefits to operational effectiveness and efficiency. Indeed, many innovators have found that avoiding ‘sustainability’, ‘circularity’ or other buzz words entirely leads to better engagement and more productive discussions. Environmental benefits can be highlighted once solutions are implemented, or as a ‘bonus’ aside.  This is in line with the view that defence sustainability is fundamentally about building resilience to the future.

3. The levers to integrate climate-resilience into business as usual are in our grasp

The key to behaviour change is simplification. We must ask, “Who do we want to do what?” and “What is the culture in which we are working?” With these levers, we can work with our existing culture(s) to support change. In the case of defence, for example, the strong orientation towards operational advantage and safety sets a context for how sustainable solutions will be evaluated and used. Metrics such as emissions monitoring can be used to make visible the impact of people’s decisions in terms of productivity, energy use, finance and more.

Each stakeholder group has different levers for change. Defence procurement agencies have a key role given their interaction with industry. Existing assets can be used as a test bed for innovation.  Academia is particularly well placed for complex research and analysis. Industry has a key role in design of robust supply chains that can withstand the shocks of energy transition, climate and political changes. Non-traditional cross sector partnerships can bring in fresh approaches. Within and between each of these groups we need to get better at asking the right questions and exploring the second and third order effects of each decision. For example, reduced energy use reduces risk to logistics personnel and leads to greater self-sufficiency of deployed forces, enabling them to go further for longer.

By grasping hold of the levers to integrate climate-resilience into business we can create effective and efficient outcomes for defence.

Thanks to everyone who took part in the Sustainability on the Edge themed lunch and related discussions at Farnborough International Air Show 2024. All-in-all a fantastic opportunity to share international perspectives from defence, academia and industry and to discuss how climate resilience can provide operational advantage for defence.

Special thanks go to: James Clare UK MOD, Stuart Laws UK MOD, Sam Staincliffe Uplift360, Caroline Gowing, David Butler Exeter University, Russell Maddalena QinetiQ Australia QinetiQ, Mari Troskie QinetiQ, and Victoria Doherty QinetiQ.

For more information please contact us at innovation@qinetiq.com