GDR 99 - European Issues

High Technology,
High Expectations


Section Articles
• Slogan or Solution? • AFV Firms in Troubled Times • High Technology: Marconi • The UK's Role on the Ocean • All Systems Go in South Africa • South Africa Backs Europe
The Marconi concept is to utilise the best practices from the civil and industrial areas and apply them to the military

Tim Ripley talks to Allan Cook, managing director of Marconi Electronic Systems' Avionics Group, Britain's leading producer of aircraft avionics, defensive aids suites, unmanned aerial vehicles and other high-tech systems, recently acquired by British Aerospace.

TR: How do you identify, manage and nurture new technology and transform it from a scientist's idea into a product?

AC: We've identified six core technologies: software engineering, systems engineering, radio frequency technology, sensors, design for manufacture and signal and data processing. They are fundamental for our success and we have established that there is a technology gap but how do we manage that gap? For the first time in my experience, we've established a process that will help us do that without stifling the innovation necessary in our R&D staff.

TR: How much is civilian technology driving advances in military technology?

AC: The commercial-off-the-shelf applications are going to be key drivers for improved efficiency and better reliability at low cost. This will help us in terms of existing products and products that are coming through.

TR: At the heart of this is the idea that the old way of doing business will never allow you to get ahead of the technological curve.


Allan Cook

AC: The obvious answer is to reduce procurement cycle times. Look at the programmes we're involved in, some products are five years in gestation and others five years in the pre-production stages. So it's fairly obvious that by the time we get to an in-service product maybe 10 or even 12 years have passed and the original design concept has been overtaken by new technology.

TR: Are military research scientists more conservative than civilians?

AC: By the nature of their requirements they are considerably different. But we can utilise innovation from each sector. I think the two most innovative companies are 3M and Sony. 3M's whole mission is to innovate change constantly. And the number of new products that it introduces annually is phenomenal. Our mantra is different because of the necessities of the defence and military business. My concept is to utilise the best practices in the civil and industrial areas and apply them to the military.

TR: What are the implications of having to be ahead of the technological curve?

AC: I would go back to the mapping we are carrying out now regarding technology drivers and the gaps we have identified in some core technologies. Some of our technical directors will say that we are not investing enough in the future, but I think we do not spend as much as we should on the front end of the business. It is expensive to drive the front end constantly because some of the technologies we are developing are very, very innovative and really stretch the laws of physics.

TR: Are the economies of Asia, Africa and South America snapping at the west's heels?


The Nemesis missile countermeasure system

AC: Of course, the more competition there is the harder it becomes, but on the positive side it also helps in terms of efficiency. We aren't looking only at what is being developed in America or in Europe, we are looking at where we can partner with areas such as India for software, and China for certain products. The British have always been at the fore of technological innovation. I believe our education system is steeped in that tradition and we have to nurture it by getting involved at the very early stages in the education process.

TR: Could you give an example?

AC: Software architecture! Previously it has been a very time-consuming process. Now we are looking at parallel processing to support the software architecture of the future. And if we look at a modular approach then we could drive weeks, months, even years out of development. But one of the biggest challenges not only Marconi but the industry faces, is the successful recruitment and retention of skilled resources in areas such as software engineering, systems engineering, radio frequency and opto-engineering. We have started a return-to-work programme. Marconi is training people who have either been out of the industry or have not even thought about entering the industry in the software field.

TR: How do you predict which technologies are going to offer competitive advantage?

AC: The cycle is an ongoing process. So almost certainly those six technologies we have now will be the core for the next five or so years. That doesn't mean others won't be added and maybe the sixth or the fifth will be less important to us in future. I can't tell for sure because of the broadness of the categories we have chosen - unless we change our direction fundamentally.


The Pegasus precision-guided munition

TR: You talked about a technological gap, what happens if you don't bridge it?

AC: If we do not bridge it then we will not be as successful in our chosen marketplace as we should be. It's that simple because those areas are fundamental to our business. When we map these processes we always look at our competitors as well as the utilisers of the technology, data processing, signal processing or software engineering. We are mindful of what is happening in the service industry and in industrial electronics because they are often the drivers of their technology.