NECTISE

NETWORK ENABLED CAPABILITY THROUGH INNOVATIVE SYSTEMS ENGINEERING

CONFERENCE CALL REALISING NETWORK ENABLED CAPABILITY LEEDS 13th- 14th October 2008 This conference will focus on the systems engineering and 'systems of systems engineering' that is crucial to NEC success

NECTISE is a jointly-funded academic-industry research programme which is investigating the implications of moving to a capability-based acquisition
environment in which the delivered capability is network enabled.
The work is planned for five years, with a stream of significant outputs and exploitation opportunities during that time.

The challenges to be addressed include:
- Through-life provision of military capability; acquisition, service, and support
- Architectures for network enabled capability; service oriented, evolvable architectures for military capability and support organisations
- Decision support within a capability-based acquisition environment; decision support tools, collaborative environments, autonomy
- Control and monitoring for systems of systems; health monitoring, reconfiguration, prognosis
- Human aspects for an efficient use of Network Enabled Capability (NEC)

The respective roles of UK government and industry in support of military capability are undergoing major changes at the same time as progress is made towards Network Enabled Capability (NEC) aspirations. It is clear that provision of NEC must consider not only the networking of sensors and decision makers for military effect but how such a capability can be deployed, supported through-life, and used in a new defence acquisition paradigm in which the relationship between MOD and industry is changing.

The achievement of NEC is the highest priority for the Advice to Capability Management research output, as well as being a strategic research priority for MOD, requiring a coherent programme of studies together with consistent assumptions on the capability offered by enablers and the potential of NEC. Network Enabled Capability – An Introduction (MoD, version 1.1, April 2004) We have now reached a crossroads. We are seeing a shift away from platform oriented programmes towards a capability-based approach, with corresponding implications for the demand required of the traditional defence industrial base. Defence Industrial Strategy, 2005 (Paragraph A1.4)

PARTNERS

Universities: Loughborough (lead) Bath Cambridge Cranfield Leeds Leicester Manchester Queen’s (Belfast) Strathclyde York
BAE Systems: Air Systems CS&S Insyte Land Systems MBDA SEIC Strategic Business Development ATC

JOINTLY FUNDED BY EPSRC AND BAE SYSTEMS