By Martin Earwicker, Chief Executive, Dstl - the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory
SubscribeThe Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) brings together the largest number of scientists and engineers in public service. Dstl was formed in July 2001 with the mission of creating the winning edge for the UK Armed Forces and the wider Government through the best use of science and technology. It comprises all the defence laboratories and capabilities retained within Government from Dstl's forerunner organisation, the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA).
Dstl undertakes the work that must be retained within government for reasons of security or international or commercial sensitivity and to ensure coherence of advice to MOD. Dstl has remained part of the MOD and our staff are civil servants or serving members of the Armed Forces.
The MOD is our foremost customer and everything we do is designed to aid MOD decision-making. We have three main areas of work with MOD: advice to decision making based on analysis and systems engineering, formulation of technology options and solutions in specialist areas and critical defence research, especially in chemical and biological defence.
Dstl does provide its services to other Government Departments, recently giving impartial advice to the Department of Transport on specialised X-ray machines, which are now widely deployed to screen baggage at airports for explosive devices and arms.
We also work closely with overseas governments on behalf of MOD and we have particularly strong links with the US where research agreements account for around half of Dstl’s collaborative research and development work. This includes projects such as the Atmospheric Dispersion Model, used in the battle against chemical and biological terrorism. Dstl is also a major player in NATO-wide research collaboration.
Our involvement with academia and industry
Co-operative Research Centres with selected UK universities have already been set up to encourage more academic involvement in our research with more planned.
Industry and MOD work together for their mutual benefit at the Applied Research Technology Demonstrator (ARTD) at Dstl Portsdown West near Fareham. Here joint research experiments are conducted on the latest commercial information technologies to show how the MOD can develop and deploy these systems to support the military user.
Providing for tomorrow’s UK Armed Forces
Dstl’s work is important in determining and assessing the threats, options and risks associated with any Intelligence, Surveillance, Target, Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) decisions.
The MOD has tasked Dstl to reduce the weight and bulk of armoured vehicles, making them 70 per cent lighter and 50 per cent smaller. In response Dstl has already developed an electric armour which, weighing only two tonnes, has been designed to have the same protective effect as carrying an extra 10-20 tonnes of steel armour.
Dstl’s capabilities include its Policy and Capability Studies department, its Front Line department which supports operations and exercises by applying analysis-based science and technology, its Missiles and Countermeasures department, its biomedical expertise and its Air, Land, Naval Systems and Information Management departments which provide analysis and top level systems advice to MOD.
In essence, Dstl’s purpose is of national significance - to provide the best impartial scientific and technological defence advice to the British Government. Dstl will therefore continue to be a key part of the UK's public services with our teams of analysts, scientists and engineers able to offer the highest standards of reliability with a pool of trusted scientific and technical expertise.
All enquiries:
Dstl
Porton Down
Salisbury
Wiltshire
SP4 0JQ
Tel: +44 (0) 1980 613121
Fax: +44 (0) 1980 613085
E-mail: central-enquiries@dstl.gov.uk
