Member Article

Hampshire defence firm scoop £6.4m MOD contract

Hampshire-based defence specialists QinetiQ have secured a £6.4m contract to deliver a four-year programme of intelligence, surveillance, target acquisitions and reconnaissance research.

The ISTAR programme, as it is known, will help to inform military commanders’ decision making.

MOD staff at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) will manage the research project, known colloquially as the “ICS engine room”, that will provide a collaborative interface to draw on solutions from industry and academia.

Jeremy Ward, MD of QinetiQ C4ISR Division said of the award: “QinetiQ is delighted to have the opportunity to work with Dstl on the ICS project. We will lead a strong, pan-industry and academia team, which includes some of the UK’s most respected scientists, engineers and academics.

“The team will provide the MOD with access to world leading innovation in C4ISTAR technology and will explore novel ISTAR technologies and processes, which will really make a difference to front line troops in the future.”

Dstl’s Dr Steven Meers, ICS Technical Lead, said: “Awarding this contract is a major landmark in the delivery of the ICS programme and is a model for how Dstl, Industry and Academic partners will be working together in the future.

“This project will improve the MOD’s ISTAR Capability, for example by combining the best information technologies emerging from the civil sector with some of the defence specific capabilities which we have access to. A technically excellent group of scientists and engineers drawn from small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), prime contractors, world-class universities and Dstl, working together in a collaborative environment, is the best way to deliver this complex, fast paced, challenging programme and provide real impact for MOD.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .