As the complex, rapidly evolving paths of global security and digital technology converge, it’s vitally important to keep our Armed Forces prepared and informed to react.
Government and military organisations have increasingly begun exploring and using tech developed by agile, innovative startups like Hadean to enhance the defence world’s digital transformation.
Air Marshal (ret’d) and UDSS Director Phil Osborn reinforced this fact when speaking at Hadean’s annual kick-off event in February 2023. He spoke about how technology innovators like Hadean can contribute to contemporary military training and preparation.
Who are Hadean?
Founded in 2015, British tech innovators Hadean develop a progressive cloud-based computing platform able to handle very large-scale simulations and data-intensive applications. Hadean strives to provide a flexible, more powerful alternative to traditional cloud computing platforms.
Their platform allows developers to build and run complex simulations and data-heavy applications that existing cloud platforms would struggle with. Hadean’s proprietary Aether Engine technology creates a foundation from its distributed systems architecture that can scale to handle large numbers of processing nodes.
Aether Engine is prominent in massively multiplayer online (MMO) gaming, allowing millions of players to interact in a virtual world. Its parallel benefits for military training and simulations are obvious - and Hadean also creates applications to test and drive autonomous vehicles.
Phil Osborn
UDSS Director and retired Air Marshal Phil Osborn is a strategic leader and advisor known for his insightful, forward-thinking approach. His career includes cutting-edge technology portfolios across cyber, intelligence and military aerospace; alongside strategic risk management and complex organisational change.
Among numerous other positions, Mr Osborne was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2009 before becoming Chief of Defence Intelligence in 2015.
At UDSS, he helps different organisations access defence and security. “Hadean’s technology is pretty pivotal in utilising the digital domain to best effect across the whole of the generation of defence and security capabilities,” said Mr Osborne.
Preparing the military for today’s complex operating environment
The threats faced by the defence industry are rapidly and constantly changing. “A lot has changed [in defence], but a lot hasn’t,” said Mr Osborne. “What we’re seeing in Europe at the moment underlines many things discussed in the Integrated Review. For example, Ukraine’s implementation of some of these things has delivered remarkable operational and tactical success.”
Keeping people and planning ahead of global security developments is a critical, challenging task that calls for a multifaceted approach. It’s also vital that the technologies used in this approach are fully scalable, accessible across domains and future-proofed for continuous integration:
- Integrating new technology such as virtual and augmented reality training systems to simulate defence scenarios and enable personnel to safely learn from their mistakes. Hadean’s immersive platforms offer these capabilities with unprecedented scalability and interoperability.
- Continuous training incorporating progressive technologies, tactics, and strategies into regular exercises, simulations, and drills to simulate real-world scenarios. Hadean’s multi-domain training solutions simulate real world scenarios by federating data and live, virtual, and constructive systems into unified synthetic environments.
- Joint exercises with other branches of the military and international forces to improve military preparedness by developing interoperability and learning from different perspectives. With a universally accessible military metaverse, personnel in different locations can simultaneously engage in exercises like wargaming to explore scenarios at national, strategic, operational and tactical levels.
- Research and development into new technologies, tactics, and strategies to keep the Forces prepared and abreast of innovation: new weapons, sensors and communication systems to enhance threat response capabilities.
With virtual testing and evaluation systems, staff can assess capabilities more immediately by pitting an interoperable digital twin against parameters to create operational advantages.
- Recruitment and retention of highly skilled personnel: developing and implementing retention strategies that provide career progression, education, and incentives can help to attract and retain the best talent. Strong leadership will inspire personnel by uniting technology, processes and ideas through clear guidance, managing expectations and leading by example.
How has digital defence evolved over the last decade?
Our world is more dangerous than it was a year ago, so there’s an urgent challenge for allied nations to ensure that technological defence advantages can be delivered as quickly as possible.
Over the last decade, digital defence has undergone significant evolution due to how rapidly technology has evolved, and the increasing frequency and sophistication of cyber attacks:
- Increased focus on cybersecurity has followed a rise in cyber attacks. Organisations now invest heavily in improving their cybersecurity posture, with many developing dedicated cybersecurity teams and implementing specialised technologies to prevent, detect, and respond to cyber threats.
- The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) as essential digital defence tools, used to automate threat detection, predict and prevent cyber attacks, and improve incident response times. AI and ML are also used to identify and respond to advanced persistent threats (APTs) that traditional security tools may miss.
- The adoption of cloud computing has become more prevalent, creating a shift in focus from securing physical infrastructure to securing data and applications. This has instigated the development of new security tools and technologies like Hadean’s - specifically designed for cloud environments.
- Increased adoption of mobile and IoT devices has created new security challenges, such as the need to secure a large number of devices and manage the data they generate. This has propagated new security technologies that can secure these devices and manage the data they generate.
- Use of big data analytics to analyse large data volumes to identify patterns and detect anomalies. This technology is used to detect and respond to cyber attacks, providing insights into how effective security measures are.
- Development of threat intelligence has become an essential part of digital defence. It is used to provide organisations with information on the latest threats and attack techniques, allowing them to improve their security posture and better defend against cyber attacks.
“Again referencing Ukraine - they’ve shown us their strength and information advantage, and the strength of integrating that advantage across a number of different warfighting domains,” Mr Osborne continued.
These trends are expected to continue, and digital defence will continue to evolve in response to the changing threat landscape.
How can tech trailblazers like Hadean help the British Armed Forces?
SMEs like Hadean are creating products and systems that integrate across domains, superseding pre-existing inefficient, costly siloed systems. Convergent systems like a military metaverse allow tools, technology and procurement to operate sympathetically - with positive implications for personnel preparedness and operational expansion.
With any technology that SMEs develop from this point, the ability to handle multiple data nodes must be able to merge with the ability to unite legacy and future resources, data and assets into a flexible ecosystem.
Hadean’s military metaverse can transformatively enhance training and education, multi-region operations, force development and support, and ongoing research. This nexus enables the creation of diverse synthetic environments that accurately represent real world operating conditions.
The concurrent ability for these systems to process and manipulate massive data volumes can revolutionise training and planning, optimising logistics and supply chains, improving cybersecurity, and enhancing collaboration. Its non-localised infrastructure and real-time access will streamline time and cost effectiveness.
The military benefits are clear:
- Large-scale data processing and intelligence analysis: The military generates vast amounts of data from multiple surveillance and intelligence sources and initiatives. With Hadean’s real-time processing capabilities, this can be converted into relevant information that boosts operational effectiveness. Parameters can be continuously evaluated for greater responsiveness and tactical adjustments.
- Simulation and modelling: A metaverse-style system can help accelerate and expand training simulation development, making them more accurate and effective. Personalised training can be delivered on demand in immersive virtual environments faithfully simulating real world scenarios. With better visualisation and feel come improved preparedness and interpersonal cohesion.
- Logistics and supply chain management is a crucial field challenge - interoperable platforms can assist in optimising logistics and supply chain management, improving efficiency and reducing costs. Troops, equipment and supplies can be moved where they need to be as required. Risk management will improve with the ability to gather, calculate and centralise data on every variable - personnel can infinitely explore ‘what if’ scenarios to react efficiently as circumstances change.
- Cybersecurity is critical to operational readiness. The military is a high-value target for cyber attacks, and technology developed by agile SMEs can help improve the military's cybersecurity standing through adaptive real-time threat detection and response capabilities.
- Collaboration: A digital metaverse like Hadean’s will enable military branches and allies to collaborate more effectively, improving interoperability and help the British Armed Forces respond more effectively to complex operating environments.
The future: collaboration between SMEs and established primes
The defence industry recognises that a lot of this now necessary technological innovation will originate from SMEs. The challenge is that while the industry wants to develop and sustain these SMEs, it doesn’t have the capabilities of large, established supplying companies such as Dassault, Microsoft, Autodesk and Siemens.
These companies can move faster, possessing the heft and experience that SMEs and defence need. Working with SMEs therefore needs to mutually benefit the prime companies and defence.
There’s a responsibility to sustain these companies, because they cannot achieve the desired momentum and pace from the ebb and flow of MOD funding alone. Further, SMEs should recognise that they will likely be somewhat less robust than their larger counterparts.
The optimal integration and information advantage that the industry wants and needs will be delivered through tools and means developed by a sustained relationship between primes and SMEs. Primes would use their power and influence to clear a path while SMEs remain agile within that to deliver what they excel at: essentially, the industry will receive more of the tools it needs at a higher, sustained rate and at the required quality level.
According to Nick Brown of Hadean, “Technological integration is something that, as a provider of enabling capability, we see as central to the value we offer to our industry partners and the defence customer. Our underlying technology, borne of industries like gaming and the emergence of metaverse architectures, can provide defence benefits in terms of integrative systems and capabilities across domains.”
Hadean believes wholeheartedly in co-nurturing partnerships and innovation to provide scientific and technological advantages. Truly harnessing these things will put tech SMEs in a good position to drive their benefits and make them commercially accessible to end users like the Ukrainians, who need it most and need it quickly.
Mr Brown continued, “Building technological tools and integrations is central to tackling threats - ensuring that they work, demonstrating their benefits and creating models that allow them to be built and used as quickly as possible. Hadean is ensuring that integrations with next-gen technological abilities are built into the design of our systems and subsystems.”
Hadean's distributed computing solutions can be applied in various areas to help the Armed Forces process large amounts of data, improve simulation and modelling, optimise logistics and supply chain management, enhance cybersecurity, and improve collaboration.
By leveraging this technology, the military can enhance their operational capabilities and maintain a competitive edge in today's complex operating environment.
