QinetiQ, partnered with Cranfield University, NSC, a training, simulation and consultancy firm, and Thales‘ XPI Simulation, has been awarded an approximately $5.9 million contract from the U.K.’s Defense Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) to monitor and demonstrate developments in gaming, mobile devices and other commercially-available technologies for the benefit of U.K. defense and security.
Dstl is a Ministry of Defense trading fund that seeks to maximize the impact of science and technology for U.K. defense and security.
Photo: QinetiQ
The Commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) and Emerging Technologies Evaluation and Exploitation (CETEE) program will identify, evaluate, integrate and exploit novel technologies to improve the cost-effectiveness of the training and simulation opportunities received by Britain’s armed forces, the company said Feb. 10.
Miles Adcock, QinetiQ Training, said: “This is a fantastic contract for QinetiQ and a key foundation to the future of our Training business. There has been a phenomenal proliferation of home entertainment, mobile devices and other information and computing technologies over the last 10 years and it is vital to keep at the forefront of these innovations and exploit them into the areas of defense and security. We look forward to working alongside our trusted partners on this research contract.”
Dstl Chief Technology Officer Andy Bell said: “CETEE embodies the vision of Dstl to work in partnership with industry and academia. By exploiting the opportunities presented by commercial and emerging technologies, we can leverage non-defense investment for use in Defense, supporting recommendations from both (Strategic Defense and Security Review) and the ‘National Security Through Technology’ White Paper.”
Bell said CETEE has great potential to provide innovative, agile research to advance understanding of how COTS can impact U.K. defense and security.
CETEE is being delivered as part of the Dstl Synthetic Environments Tower of Excellence (SE Tower) program, which enables the Ministry of Defense (MoD), industry and academia to work together to build capability through research into future training and simulation needs.