Strategic Command Multi Domain Integration Industry Day – techUK Summary
What is Multi Domain Integration (MDI)?
- MDI is the posturing of military capabilities with other instruments of national power, allies, and partners; configured to sense, understand, and orchestrate effects at the optimal tempo, across the operational domains and levels of warfare.
There are four core tenets behind the MDI Concept:
- Information Advantage;
- Strategically Postured;
- Configured for the Environments;
- Creating and Exploiting Synergy;
MDI Introduction
- Pursue integration to better compete across the Maritime, Land, Air, Cyber and Space operating domains and levels of warfare;
- MDI also means integrations with industry, allies, and partners across government;
- MDI is the primary operational change programme for the Ministry of Defence (MOD);
- MDI requires better engagement with suppliers and industry, encompassing:
-
- Strategic Necessity;
- Operational independence;
- Value for money;
- Global competition;
- From an MDI perspective, the Armed forces need to drive change to target those three areas that are key, which are:
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- Unified ways of working between all parts of Defence, which uses every capability in concert to support a desired outcome;
- Using modern technology to enable this to happen more quickly, more efficiently, and more often;
- Changing the mindset across Defence to embrace MDI, given it affects all parts of the enterprise;
- To enable all of the above, industry intelligence is required;
- MDI will be an ongoing journey over the long-term, requiring close collaboration with industrial partners to succeed;
What does MDI mean to Operational Commander now and in the future?
- MDI offers Defence integration across the operational domains, across government and with allies below the threshold of armed conflict;
- MDI has maximized opportunities for land, air, or sea and with MDI it can choose how best to deliver the aspects of joint domain;
- Traditional geographic boundaries do not apply to MDI;
- The services need to employ strategic patience and a degree of understanding;
- MDI offers Defence the chance to embrace innovation and understanding of artificial intelligence (AI) and other behaviours;
Overview of MDI Change Programme:
Benefits of MDI include:
- Persistent national strategic advantage;
- Integration by instinct;
- Modernised force structures and capabilities;
- Faster and better decision making for operators;
The overall construct of the MDI programme is based on:
- People and skills;
- New capabilities;
- Force development and experimentation;
- Process and governance;
- Digitisation;
The MDI Change Programme will operate through 5 roles:
- Cohere
- Prioritise
- Promote
- Exploit
- Direct
The programme will achieve MDI through 5 key elements:
- Integrating capabilities;
- Orchestrating activity & effects;
- Improving understanding;
- Creating agility at all levels;
- Enhancing global reach;
Focused MDI Interventions:
- North Atlantic Use Case – Maritime centric to Multi Domain approach;
- Baltic Compete – Land centric to Multi Domain approach;
- Dark Star – Concept demonstrator;
- Special Forces Operational Trial Period – Progress delivery of special operations concept;
Priorities from Integrated Review – Front Line Command Perspectives
Key principles for Royal Navy:
- Expand capabilities and ship building increased by 65%;
- Protecting critical national infrastructure;
- Exploring new technologies to deliver effect;
- Integration with other FLCs;
- Future commando force – fighting alongside special forces;
- Working across allies and industry partners to achieve MDI;
Key principles for the British Army:
- People are the main focus;
- Soldiers are the sensors and bearers of messages;
- Land MDI poses challenges:
- Integrating the soldier as a sensor and bearer;
- Geographical challenges of moving increasing large amounts of data;
These challenges will be met through integration of the following areas:
- Evolved digital backbone;
- Long range ISTAR;
- Long range fires;
- Air and UAS defence;
- Next gen aviation systems;
- Next gen combat vehicles;
- Human optimization and automation;
- Synthetic training environment;
Key principles for the RAF:
- Digitised into joint and coalition battlespace
- Air / Defence experimentation
- Air / Defence synthetics
- AI – enabled DM
Key principles for Space Command:
- Space capabilities essential for daily life;
- Information age underpinned by Space-based capabilities;
- Space-based capabilities are a common enabler for FLC operating domains;
- As an enabler, Space-based capabilities are already a key aspect of MDI;
- Space Command helps connect, interact, and operate with multiple domains
- Able to move across and between different theatres of war
Key principles for Strategic Command:
MDI encompasses the breadth of Strategic Command capability development, including:
- Digital backbone
- Cyber & Electromagnetic Activities (CEMA)
- Artificial Intelligence
- Digital transformation
- Cloud computing
- Synthetics
DE&S Future Capability Group – Accelerating MDI into capabilities
- 100 FTE’s ‘cross functional’ teams;
- Circa 15 programmes, 1-3 years, £150-£300m of funding;
- New capability areas – requiring novel tech and approaches;
- Focus capability acceleration, not on research;
- Establishment of new capability centres of excellence (e.g., digital battlespace CoE);