Military innovation to build military capability, the case of uncrewed maritime systems
Time: Thu 2023-10-19 10.00
Location: E3, Osquars backe 14, Stockholm
Language: English
Subject area: Vehicle and Maritime Engineering
Doctoral student: Therese Tärnholm , Lättkonstruktioner, marina system, flyg- och rymdteknik, rörelsemekanik
Opponent: Dr Gesa Praetorius, Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI)
Supervisor: Docent, Lektor Hans Liwång, Teknisk mekanik; Ivan Stenius, Farkostteknik och Solidmekanik; Dr Patrik Stensson, Swedish Defence University
QC 230928
Abstract
For a military organisation capability is a central concept. The definitions vary with different nations and organizations, but here the military capability is defined as the ability of a sociotechnical system to solve military tasks performed under certain circumstances in a set environment. To create new or develop existing military capability, military innovation can be a crucial piece of the puzzle. It might be innovative systems solving tasks in the existing organization or existing technology used in an innovative manner.The aim of this thesis is to create a structure for discussing technology, innovation, and capability in a relevant way, where the capability lifecycle presents an overview of the desired capability when planning for future compositions of technology and units, instead of focusing on the individual systems. Therefore, this work is governed by a thematic aim that at least requires a multidisciplinary research approach which contains different research areas to understand how the technical systems can contribute within its context.To visualise this context, different aspects of the system is here divided into three layers. The technology level represents the technology itself, in this case Maritime Uncrewed Systems, which needs to be understood with its opportunities and limitations. The system also needs to be understood in its sociotechnical layer where the technical system is interacting with people, organization, and other units. The final layer is the governance layer with both the legal and ethical considerations in the use of the technology, in this case, an uncrewed system.The overall conclusion is that capability development is not doing things the same way as before with different technology. It is about trust in the overall system and developing how the available resources, both technical and sociotechnical, can contribute to solving a task as efficiently as possible in an altered organization.