Defence Business: NZ Defence Industry Forum 2007

1 November 2007

By Nick Lee-Frampton

The theme for the NZ Defence Industry forum was ‘Industry supporting Defence’; it’s a universal theme and every nation faces similar problems, albeit on different scales. The Rugby World Cup also rated a mention.

Minister of Defence Phil Goff was the designated keynote speaker for the 10th NZ Defence Industry forum, held in Wellington, 9-10 October. But attending the funeral of a young RNZN sailor delayed his address and instead the forum’s proceedings began with Britain’s defence attaché, Colonel Nigel Lloyd.

He presented verbatim extracts from despatches from Afghanistan and Iraq which in their raw description of the savage and merciless nature (both militarily and environmentally) of soldiering in those countries put the more academic and strategic presentations that were to follow into a most pragmatic focus.

However, with no revelations forthcoming about the choice between AgustaWestland’s A109 or Eurocopter’s EC635 to meet the RNZAF’s Training/Light Utility Helicopter requirement there was little scope left for acquisition news, but ADM did notice some gems here and there.

DMO’s Doris Gibb mentioned a 46 per cent rise in spending over the past decade and NZ Defence Force (NZDF) personnel didn’t attempt to hide their envy.

For example, while describing the NZDF’s Long Term Development Plan, Air Commodore Kevin Short, recently appointed Assistant Chief of Development, said “We don’t have $22 billion like Australia, more like $1 billion for the next six years.”

Discussed with ADM during lunch was a more subtle but clearly significant issue relating to defence dollars; property prices in the vicinity of the RNZN’s Auckland base at Devonport are beyond the reach of most sailors. This matter came to mind when RNZN Captain Fred Keating, presenting the RNZN’s procurement plans, acknowledged that the Navy’s most pressing challenge is recruiting personnel.

Another illustration of the impact of a minimal defence budget came when Air Commodore Stewart Baillie, head of the Joint Logistics and Support Organisation mentioned that there is $1million worth of deferred maintenance.

NZ infrastructure
Opening his presentation Baillie described the JLSO’s mission as quality, quality, quality … although the accompanying graphic displayed a more diffuse and prosaic mission statement.

Accommodation obviously is not the most stimulating topic at a forum but perhaps the remark by John MacLachlan, NZDF director of estates policy, who addressed the matter of NZDF Infrastructure Development, that “… there is no long-term vision for location, size and functionality,” should not be put to one side.

Rear Admiral Jack Steer, presently commanding New Zealand’s Joint forces HQ was typically direct about dollars: “We’d love to have the budget Doris is dealing with.”

He made other salient observations too, including “Jointness is everything” and “We never have enough bandwidth.” He also emphasised that deployment “takes our best people”.

It is not the Army private, the Navy AB or the leading aircraftsman who is sent to assist in multi-lateral missions but personnel with experience and crucial abilities, so the impact of having more than 670 people overseas is, he said, “quite significant.”

He was tasked to talk on domestic security and mentioned that defence force personnel sent to assist in the event of natural disasters typically wear common DPM clothing.

This, he said, leads civilians to assume it is only Army personnel involved and he suggested the services might be better distinguished visually although his suggested colour schemes are perhaps best left in the shadows.

International role
In recent years there has been a lot of emphasis, from Wellington anyway, on the NZDF operating with other Government agencies and the forum appropriately received a briefing from John Ladd, NZ Custom’s Manager: Operations Coordination.

Some 99 per cent of NZ’s international trade is legitimate and, moreover, NZ Customs is the only such service in the world with a ‘secure export’ arrangement with the US.

Keith Smith of the UK’s Defence Export Services Organisation had plenty of positive and appropriate slogans to offer from the DESO’s repertoire, including: Whole life costs we take extremely seriously. People are the key to success. Best is the enemy of the very good. Time matters. Success and failure matter.

As well he outlined the UK’s Defence Helicopter Flying School, which appears to be doing very well. He said 40 per cent of the instructors are civilians, although this number includes ex-military instructors. Targeted to fly 28,000 hours annually, the school is in fact achieving 36,000 hours.

John Wester, L3 Communication Integrated Systems’ Technical Director spoke on COTS applications. The days of defence driving technology are far-gone, he said. “We’ve been on a perpetual learning curve since 1997.”
Research and development

Dr David Park, CEO of the Geospatial Research Centre (NZ) Ltd — a joint venture involving the Universities of Nottingham (UK) and Canterbury (NZ) raised laughter with his revelation that he has spent $20,000 in less than a year on what he called ‘souped up’ model aircraft.

Being so new an enterprise, nothing yet is military or indeed in production, but Dr Park said it is up and flying and, crucially, it is working. The company expects its first commercial UAV flights to occur next year and he said New Zealand could be a world leader in the development and operation of UAV systems and sensors.

Maybe so, but his presentation was followed by David Mitchell of Australian company Microair Avionics who showed video of operational aerial surveillance film that was astonishingly stable and impressively detailed.

He listed several prominent large UAV platforms and reminded his audience that such vehicles have their limitations, including ‘getting them up there quickly.’

At the same time while miniature UAVs may be launched more quickly, they need to be robust - ‘they’re no good if a soldier steps on a wing and breaks it’ and they also need to be capable of flight in adverse weather.

Verbal highlights of Mitchell’s presentation included: The more they run, the more they glow! (accompanying film of IR surveillance) and his assertion that pretty or sexy aircraft aren’t always the best. ‘The ugly ducklings are more adaptable and better.’