Towards an Industry for Network Based Defence? - Creating information age defence systems

Two different schools of thought were found on industry aspects of the shift towards an information age defence - in the report they are labelled ´reformists´ and ´revolutionaries´. The ´reformists´acknowledge changes to defence induced by technological development, but see these as quantitative, i.e. not qualitatively disrupting the character of conflicts. The ´revolutionaries´in contrast foresee significant societal shifts likely to change conflict and defence also qualitatively. As for the industrial base ´reformists´ typically stress the role of established defence prime contractors in harnessing commercial ICT developments. From the point of view of ´revolutionaries´, small and medium sized companies with defence domain expertise could exploit disruptive technologies to develop innovative military applicatiomns by being flexible in adapting new technologies and in reconfiguring organisational skills and resources. Based on the findings of this study, governments are advised to improve collaboration with a range of companies from both the defence and commercial sectors in order to take advantage of the innovative potential of current developments in technology and business.