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RESEARCH, ANALYSIS & TRENDS

be forged between industry, government and the de- nies. Outside of Silicon Valley, Tel Aviv has more start-
fence industry, who’s to say a new frontier in innovation ups per capita than any economic hub in the world –
wouldn’t be breached? one of which birthed the USB flash drive.

Wars are synonymous with technology Israel presents a strong argument for a marrying of
state resources dedicated to defence research and de-
If World War I was characterised by rapid advancement velopment and innovation incubators. Could this be the
in technology, World War II was the war most defined recipe for a wildly successful innovation industry?
by it. So much so that its impact would echo decades
into the future. Championing innovation

At the core of these advancements was a mathemati- Technology has – and is – disrupting every industry,
cal, scientific and technological wizardry. New inven- from entertainment to infrastructure development.
tions and the advancement of scientific principles form
the basis for inventions we couldn’t do without today. This is compounded by the fact that with the growth of
technology and associated costs, licensing, collabora-
Rocketry that was pioneered in WW II would later lead tion, joint ventures, mergers and cross-ownership sud-
to the building of the rockets that propelled the Apollo denly begin to look far more attractive. Concurrently,
spacecraft to the moon. the lines between technology and purely military appli-
cations versus wider application is blurring. This has
Then there’s the radar system. The radar system uses seen the boundaries and responsibilities between the
radio waves to determine the range, angle or velocity of military and it’s supporting defence industry and part-
objects. It’s now widely used ‒ air traffic control and ners increasingly blur. If the military has become de-
weather forecasting are just two examples of its appli- pendent on industry, how can industry leverage that to
cation. Not forgetting the household item most of us gain a competitive edge in other sectors?
couldn’t live without: the microwave. The appliance was
developed post-war after it was discovered that micro- In the midst of this, governments are grappling with
waves transmitted from radar equipment during WWII very real challenges, racing against the clock to meet
could also cook food. their development goals and future-proof their cities.

The military has always been at the forefront of technol- It’s the perfect storm: a convergence between govern-
ogy. The Global Positioning System (GPS) is yet anoth- ment, the defence industry and industry partners is as
er example of this. Bringing an end to the age-old point inevitable as it is necessary.
of contention in many relationships by helping men
save face without having to stop to ask for directions, This presents an opportunity for the three to leverage
the GPS has become an integral part of life as we know each other to find solutions in transport, energy, health,
it. Yet its origins hark back to the 1970s, when the US education and other spheres.
Defence Department set up a network of satellites.
It’s the logical next step for industry to spark a revolu-
Research and development are non- tion of a different kind. Instead of responding to techno-
negotiables logical disruptions, industries need to be at the van-
guard of innovative technologies.
Defence is a major part of many national governments The innovation war will be won by those who dare to
spend and effective national defence is a priority in this press on to the next frontier and beyond. The resultant
complex world. Is there a new way of extracting wider technological gains could set industry up for immeasur-
national value out of this investment, and how can na- able success. ◊
tions use investment in national defence as an incuba-
tor for a strong defence sector that acts as a stimulator By David Barnes,
for economic growth and an ideas incubator? And does
size matter – is innovation in defence only the preroga- Client Director –
tive of the superpower? Defence & national Security,
Aurecon
A country that has dominated the technology sphere is
Israel. Underpinned by a long tradition of close relations
between the various arms of the Israeli Defence Force
(IDF) and the state, the nation has spearheaded numer-
ous advances in weaponry, including deploying the first
armed unmanned boat for surveillance and protection.
The country’s research and development industry has
also been driven by the state, engendering a culture of
impressive innovation. In fact, the IDF has served as an
incubator for a number of founders of high tech compa-

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