Defence Innovation, Science and Technology Strategy 'Accelerating Asymmetric Advantage – delivering More, Together'.
The 2024 National Defence Strategy (NDS) highlights the importance of asymmetric advantage in a deteriorating strategic environment and the need to rapidly pull through innovation into capability. This strategy responds to the direction set by the NDS.
The strategy outlines a 10-year vision for an integrated, secure approach to innovation, science and technology capability development and translation through close collaboration between Defence, industry, universities, research organisations and international partners (the Defence innovation, science and technology ecosystem) to deliver asymmetric capabilities to the ADF. The strategy will be updated every 2 years to align with the biennial NDS cycle.
Four strategic objectives guide our approach:
- contribute to the strategy of denial
- generate asymmetric advantage
- accelerate innovative solutions into capability
- grow our Defence innovation, science and technology ecosystem through strategic partnerships.
The strategy responds to short term Defence capability needs while recognising the need for development of technologies and new capabilities that may be required by Defence in the longer term. The strategy will be delivered through the following 4 lines of effort:
- anticipating the future
- experimentation
- integrated ecosystem
- mission driven.
The strategy encompasses the entire Defence Innovation, Science and Technology Enterprise, comprising all Groups and Services and portfolio bodies within Defence. It emphasises the need for early stage research and focuses existing efforts on key Innovation, Science and Technology priorities described in the NDS and through AUKUS.
The strategy was released at the opening of the Australian Defence Science Technology and Research Summit 2024 in Canberra.