Defence and

Security Accelerator

Strategic context
Autonomous last mile resupply
Innovation network event - 23 May 2017

OFFICIAL
Robotics and Autonomy within the
Army – where are we going?
The difference

The
military
no longer
leads the
R&D field
 The importance to the Army?

 The UK government considers it important

 Defence thinks its important
 Our Allies think its important
 Industry thinks its important
 Our current adversaries think it is important
 Our potential adversaries think it is important……..
 And most argue that it will change society and the
world

The key is comparative advantage

The shifting dynamic

The Hon Mr Eric Fanning,

22nd Secretary of the US Army:

• We need a more robust dialogue with industry

• We need to present industry with opportunities to
come forward with novel technology
• We must tell industry what we need and be clear
about our priorities, then commit
• We must integrate ideas together and not be
constrained by process – we must breakdown
barriers and unlock innovation (AUSA Oct 16)
 The Capability Spotlight
Aim: The RAS Spotlight aims to identify how the
Army can exploit developments in RAS
technology through focused analysis, capability
integration and experimentation to deliver
affordable operational capability in the short-
medium term (5-15 years).
Progress:
 21 Nov 16 - Land Capability Industry Day.
 19 Jan 17 - Terms of Reference endorsed.
 Feb 17 - DSEI Land Environment Capability
Conference (11 Sep 17) agreed. Theme: The future
of Robotics and Autonomous Systems in the Land
Environment:
 12 May 17 – Executive Committee of the Army Board
(ECAB) endorses Army Warfighting Experiment (AWE)
18 be focused as major RAS event.
Objectives:
● Review military, government and wider
industrial RAS research and development to
inform and baseline an Army capability
development agenda.
● Establish the requirement for underpinning
RAS frameworks and architectures forming the
basis of future coherent capability
development.
● Create a Land Environment RAS development
roadmap detailing.
● Determine and shape RAS legal and ethical
freedoms and constraints for the LE within a
wider Defence and Government context.
● Run a RAS Experiment in 2018.
● Determine ROM capability costs and potential
insertion Decision Points within the Capability
Investment Plan.
● Develop a coherent LE RAS strategic narrative
for internal / external communication.
 The way forward
2016 2017 DSEI Strategic
Industry Engagement(s)
(Jun – Aug 17) Conference
(11 Sep 17)
RAS Capability ECAB
Spotlight Endorsement
(Autumn 16) (12 May 17)
User Requirements
Workshops Development

2018
Capstone Experimentation
Army Warfighting Experiment (AWE) (Autumn 18)

Generation of Evidence
(Spring 18) Exploitation
2019+
 Defence and
Security Accelerator

Defence and
Security Accelerator
Thank you for your attention

OFFICIAL
 Defence and
Security Accelerator

The innovation autonomy challenge

and assured autonomous resupply

OFFICIAL
We are making rapid progress

Planning started in February 2016 to:

• accelerate the application of autonomy to substantive
defence and security issues
• use innovative approaches with fast-paced demonstration
and experimentation to engage developers and users, and
rapidly progress to application
• pilot approaches for the Defence and Security Accelerator

OFFICIAL
25 May 2017
OFFICIAL © Crown copyright 2016 Dstl
Innovation Autonomy Challenge

Three core themes were agreed to address

International, cross-Whitehall and technology
opportunity perspectives:

LAUNCHED - assured autonomous resupply

LAUNCHED - autonomous hazardous scene

assessment

DEFINED - intelligent autonomous counter-UAS

OFFICIAL
Public statements
“The UK and the US are speeding up the impact that robotic and autonomous
systems can have on resupplying their armies by committing to a joint
programme, announced UK Defence Minister Philip Dunne and US Under
Secretary of Defense Frank Kendall today”

UK-US public announcement at Farnborough International Airshow

14 July 2016

“Today the department will also launch a new competition

with the Home Office to challenge industry to design unmanned systems – robots and
aircraft – that can assess hazardous scenes, such as chemical attack sites. These
collaborative challenges will inform the development of the Defence and Security
Accelerator”
Public announcements for Innovation Initiative, 12 August & 16 September 2016

OFFICIAL © Crown copyright 2016 Dstl

Assured autonomous resupply
Vision: an ambitious 3-5 year framework to address key areas for the UK Armed
Forces and the UK Logistics Defence Authority through testing autonomous systems
applications in the field of Defence logistics for deployed operations.

• systems used to deliver material to

deployed forces
• decision making technologies
• command and control of the delivery
assets
• supply chain information management
• intelligent resupply

Current agreed scope for UK-US

Coalition Assured Autonomous
Resupply Challenge
OFFICIAL
© Crown copyright 2016 Dstl
OFFICIAL
Assured autonomous resupply
Vision: an ambitious 3-5 year framework to address key areas for the UK Armed
Forces and the UK Logistics Defence Authority through testing autonomous systems
applications in the field of Defence logistics for deployed operations.

• systems used to deliver material to

deployed forces
• decision making technologies
• command and control of the delivery
assets
• supply chain information management
• intelligent resupply

Autonomous Last Mile Resupply

OFFICIAL
© Crown copyright 2016 Dstl
OFFICIAL
 US/UK Coalition Assured Autonomous
Resupply (CAAR) Challenge

Aims to collaboratively accelerate, demonstrate and evaluate effective use of

autonomous systems for coalition land tactical logistics applications

• sequential demonstrations of the ‘state of the

art’ technologies for tactical logistic operations
‘from the deployed base to front line forces’

• user evaluation and assessment of concepts

and technologies for the development of
coalition and national tactics, training and
procedures (TTPs)

• expedite transition of autonomous systems

Image copyright of TARDEC / US DOD

technologies from developers, labs and R&D

centres and between coalition partners
(C) Tardec & DOD

OFFICIAL
 US/UK Coalition Assured Autonomous
Resupply (CAAR) Challenge

US Convoy and Autonomous Last

Mile (ALM) projects

(TARDEC & ARDEC)

CAAR1 Initial CAAR2 Experiment

Experiment Enhanced convoy CAAR Capstone
8 vehicle capability & Experiment (Planned)
coalition convoy multiple UAS/UGVs Integrated tactical
resupply capability

UK Autonomous Last Mile

Resupply (ALMRS) project UK
AWE18

October October October

2017 2018 2019

2017 2018 2019

OFFICIAL
UK competition

Aims to harness the advances in commercial logistics systems and

services to develop, demonstrate and evaluate for tactical frontline military
applications

• reduce the demand on existing platforms and

infrastructure Resupply at
reach
• reduce the risk and burden on military
personnel during forward resupply tasks
• increase the efficiency of last mile resupply
with through pace and accuracy
• enable greater operational agility and flexibility Emergency
in complex and contested environments Battle
Replenishment

OFFICIAL
© Crown copyright 2016 Dstl
OFFICIAL
The competition is on!
• funding ~ £3M over 2 years
• open networking launch event 23 May 2017
• competition closes 21 June 2017 12 noon
• 6 month Phase 1 contracts placed mid-August 2017
• 12 month Phase 2 from April 2018
• substantive user demonstration and assessment in realistic
operational environments through Army Warfighting
Experimentation - AWE18
• ‘Phase 3’ – pull-through planning in on-going dialogue with
Army HQ capability staffs

OFFICIAL
Phased capability development timeline
Phase 1 Phase 2 Potential Phase 3
Demonstrated Systems
Challenge 1
Capability Prototype
Unmanned delivery (min TRL6)
platforms

Challenge
Technology 2
de-risk and Fielded system prototype
Develop, build,Autonomous
Integrated demonstrate and
Last Mile Down-selectedfor
Phase 3 System
collaboration to create system opportunities forward spiral
Vehicle autonomy systems evaluate Delivery
prototype Systems
Systems Demonstrator
development?
proposition
and technologies

Challenge 3 Key Outputs

Logistics management • System refinement
systems and technologies Key Outputs
• Test and evaluation in hands of user
• System integration and test
community
• Rigorous testing and evaluation
• International Collaboration
• Demonstration (inc VIP)
Key Outputs • Tests and evaluation in further
• (Potential) US DoD collaboration
• Collaboration events -presenting environments
aims, capabilities and challenges
• Demonstration and assessment
• Phase 2 proposal
March April
2018 AWE18 2019

2017 2018 2019

CAAR 1 CAAR 2 CAAR

Capstone
(Planned)
OFFICIAL