All at sea

In the procuring of equipment for defence, an `acquisition triangle¿ can be discerned in that the Government is the customer, an industrial base is the supplier, and an armed service is the operator. The process of procurement is illustrated by reference to three weapon systems: airborne early warning radar, torpedoes and surface warships. The paper traces case histories of specification, design and development of systems in these three areas and points out the advantages of a systems approach to specification, design, development and deployment. The paper assesses the needs for increasing technical knowledge and expertise in members of the armed services and concludes with an explanation of the necessity for compromise in Government-financed research and development.