2874: AI, Autonomy, and Sustainability at BAE Systems FalconWorks

[00:00:00] It's the future of defence technology already at our fingertips.

[00:00:06] When today's episode of Tech Talks Daily we're going to dive deep into the world of

[00:00:10] innovation in defence technologies with our esteemed guest, his name is Dave Holmes, managing

[00:00:16] director of FalconWorks at BAE Systems.

[00:00:21] And FalconWorks is a beacon of advanced R&D in the air sector and they stand at the

[00:00:27] forefront of envisioning and crafting the future of air power.

[00:00:32] So today Dave's going to share his insights into how FalconWorks is not just keeping pace,

[00:00:38] but setting the pace when it comes to next in defence technology.

[00:00:43] But that's not just what we're going to be talking about, I want to hear more about

[00:00:47] technology, innovation and at the heart of all this though, it's the importance of

[00:00:52] collaboration with SMEs, academia, governments and so many other partners to pioneer sustainable

[00:00:59] low carbon footprint solutions that push the boundaries of autonomy and even uncrewed

[00:01:05] systems.

[00:01:06] And Dave's offered to give us a front row seat into the innovations that are shaping

[00:01:10] our world's security.

[00:01:12] So join us as we uncover the strategies, challenges, triumphs that are all collectively driving

[00:01:18] technological advancement at one of the most critical frontiers of our time.

[00:01:23] Before we get today's guests on now, I need to give a quick shout out and a thank you

[00:01:26] to the sponsors of Tech Talks daily this month, they are KiteWorks and in a digital

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[00:02:17] by visiting KiteWorks.com, that's KiteWorks.com where you can explore the future of secure

[00:02:24] data management but now it's time to get on with the show and invite today's guests

[00:02:28] on.

[00:02:29] So buckle up and hold on tight as I beam your ears all the way to the UK where you

[00:02:33] could sit down with myself and Dave as we talk about all this and much more.

[00:02:40] Hello, a massive warm welcome to the show.

[00:02:43] Can you tell everyone listening a little bit about who you are and what you do?

[00:02:47] Hi, I'm Dave Holmes.

[00:02:48] I'm the managing director of FalconWorks within base systems air sector.

[00:02:53] I've been with the company for nearly 40 years now.

[00:02:56] We're a leading defence and aerospace company as most people know and over that period

[00:03:04] of time I've worked in a variety of different roles.

[00:03:07] Currently our FalconWorks business is leading on developing new concepts, solutions for the

[00:03:14] Air Promiser Enterprise and fundamentally this is around us trying to understand how

[00:03:21] we can augment human capability by bringing technology forward either in terms of helping

[00:03:28] them through the engineering cycle or indeed our end customers so we can make them more

[00:03:33] effective and of course allow them to keep safe whilst they're delivering a difficult mission

[00:03:39] at times.

[00:03:40] And that's just one of the many reasons I was excited to get you on the podcast because

[00:03:44] every single day I try and get people thinking differently about areas that they may be surrounded

[00:03:49] by in their life and when they're out and about that they don't associate with technology

[00:03:54] and FalconWorks is described as this centre for advanced and agile R&D in the air

[00:04:00] sector that focuses on horizon scanning for new capabilities etc.

[00:04:05] But can you just share how your team identifies and prioritises those technologies of tomorrow

[00:04:12] that will ultimately ensure defence customers of yours maintain that competitive edge?

[00:04:19] Yeah, for sure.

[00:04:20] I mean it's a great question.

[00:04:21] Well the first thing to recognise is we don't think we help them monopoly.

[00:04:25] We'll definitely don't on innovation or entrepreneurship.

[00:04:29] So what we're seeking to do is sort of follow a multi-strand approach.

[00:04:36] The first thing is we're looking all the time, horizon scanning for partners, SMEs, academics

[00:04:43] who are bringing forward contemporary solutions, leading edge pieces of tech which

[00:04:50] are really focused on what's after tomorrow.

[00:04:53] It's not really trying to deal with today's issues per se.

[00:04:56] I mean may have today's applications but really looking at our horizon scanning elements,

[00:05:01] look for things that are very different and first to identify can we relate those

[00:05:05] to challenges, problem sets that we know from being in to be with our customer base.

[00:05:11] The next round of it really is about having people that I would describe as

[00:05:16] futurologists within the team.

[00:05:20] And these are the people who are thinking about what could be,

[00:05:25] what should be, what might be and almost trying to paint that science fiction type

[00:05:31] landscape that says okay if the technology capable is available here's what we could

[00:05:36] really do.

[00:05:37] And again you know what people are thinking about how do we turn science

[00:05:41] fiction into science fact and pull through technologies to do that.

[00:05:47] And then the final strand of it is recognising with the UK's academic

[00:05:52] establishments it is at a world beating level.

[00:05:55] And we mustn't forget about that.

[00:05:57] So we work through what I would describe as grand challenges with a very wide

[00:06:02] and varied academic network across the UK and wider and let them pull

[00:06:08] through solutions, novels, novel ideas around these grand challenges.

[00:06:13] And you know, so examples such as you know, partnering with the Turing

[00:06:17] Institute or through the Manchester Royce Institute on materials and material science.

[00:06:23] So how can we give them unique problem sets which will be game

[00:06:28] changes in terms of being able to move technology, technology on.

[00:06:32] I'm a stress that this is actually about looking not just down a security

[00:06:37] and defence lens.

[00:06:39] You know, we look very wide, you know, a lot of the independent

[00:06:43] science, physics, technologies out there today, you know, is from near

[00:06:47] neighbour sectors.

[00:06:50] And it's really about how do we integrate and do something different

[00:06:54] with it, which will give that game changing solution to our key customers.

[00:06:59] And we've seen that cycle operate over many decades.

[00:07:03] I suppose that's one of the joys of being old.

[00:07:06] I've seen this reciprocal cycle of things developed in a commercial world

[00:07:10] that's then been exploited in the security and defence world.

[00:07:13] And I've seen things being developed in the defence sector

[00:07:16] that have then found utility within commercial applications.

[00:07:22] I think that's such an important point to make there.

[00:07:25] And BA Systems is renowned globally for its research and technology

[00:07:30] pedigree. And on this podcast, we've spoken with Rob Merriweather, Lucy

[00:07:34] Walton and talking about everything from quantum computing to AI

[00:07:37] to synthetic training environments.

[00:07:40] So with all that in mind, how do you at FalconWorks build on a legacy

[00:07:44] like that? And what are some of the key strategies that you employ to

[00:07:47] foster innovation within the organisation?

[00:07:50] Well, so we've got quite a large team.

[00:07:53] I mean, that's the key bit.

[00:07:55] The company recognises the value of being at the leading edge

[00:08:00] of what we do and indeed Lucy's part of the FalconWorks family.

[00:08:05] So we invest heavily with our own funding.

[00:08:10] So Recycle Profits, I suppose that's about, you know,

[00:08:13] proof of the pudding, you know, back internally, what we are seeking to do.

[00:08:19] We form collaborations.

[00:08:21] I mentioned before about that whole thing about partnerships and stronger together.

[00:08:25] We form partnerships with SMEs right across that industrial and tech

[00:08:30] landscape to look for or use to apply that technology.

[00:08:37] And things that we've seen in terms of how do we make it even better if so?

[00:08:41] I don't give you an example.

[00:08:43] You know, we've got, you know,

[00:08:45] everybody today is using 3D print and additive manufacture.

[00:08:50] But a lot of the additive manufacturing capabilities out there

[00:08:52] isn't suitable for high stressed applications, high integrity applications.

[00:08:58] So we work really closely with the UK company, Renishaw

[00:09:04] and we've helped bring Renishaw forward together

[00:09:08] and under UK research and innovation programs to improve the standard

[00:09:14] of product produced through the additive machine that allows those products

[00:09:19] that come off to be certified and then move into some more exacting

[00:09:24] and harsher environments than maybe you would see in the automotive sector.

[00:09:28] We've done the same.

[00:09:29] You may have seen articles around our factory, the future.

[00:09:31] We're by again, we've partnered with companies.

[00:09:34] We've taken, you know, standard off the shelf if there's ever such a thing

[00:09:38] automotive robots and through working with a company in Wales,

[00:09:44] we've modified those to improve their accuracy tenfold

[00:09:49] that now allows them to be used in the exacting tolerance world

[00:09:53] that you see within the aerospace sector where maybe, you know,

[00:09:57] we need to control tolerances on aerodynamic shape of things

[00:10:00] a lot tighter than elsewhere.

[00:10:03] We've used AI.

[00:10:06] I mean, everybody's, everyone is looking at machine learning and automation

[00:10:09] and AI were no different.

[00:10:12] We see great advantages in but also come back to augment the capability of humans.

[00:10:17] Can you remove the the tasking for the dull, the dangerous,

[00:10:22] the repetitious or recognize that, you know, by today's society,

[00:10:27] we overload individuals with a volume of information data.

[00:10:30] We present them whether it be an industrial or engineering

[00:10:33] part of the cycle or indeed in the user community world.

[00:10:36] So can we use some of these capabilities to allow people

[00:10:41] the space and capacity to be more effective?

[00:10:44] So can you use large language models to synthesize lots of data

[00:10:49] to allow them to make better real time decisions?

[00:10:53] So this isn't about trying to replace humans.

[00:10:55] This is actually about trying to make humans more predictable

[00:10:59] and more effective in the roles that society is asking of them

[00:11:03] wherever they sit in that wider ecosystem.

[00:11:05] And so it goes on.

[00:11:08] And having spoken with Lucy Walton a couple of weeks ago

[00:11:10] and also listening to you today,

[00:11:12] collaboration seems to be the cornerstone

[00:11:15] of FalconWorks approach to innovation.

[00:11:18] And digging deeper on that, can you tell me a bit more about

[00:11:21] the importance of working with academia, research organizations,

[00:11:25] SMEs and governments in developing new defence

[00:11:28] capabilities and other capabilities?

[00:11:30] And have these partnerships ultimately contribute to your success

[00:11:34] because it's not something you do completely on your own, is it?

[00:11:38] No, it's no.

[00:11:39] And it's great that Lucy's been able to bring those points out

[00:11:42] in earlier podcasts.

[00:11:44] I'm sure Meriwether has as well.

[00:11:46] You know, FalconWorks is really,

[00:11:48] it's resundectory is about innovation, collaboration and concept.

[00:11:52] So, you know, three principle blanks

[00:11:55] to how we go about doing our business.

[00:11:58] And creating that front door where

[00:12:02] anybody that's got a great idea, a great piece of tech knows what to dock into.

[00:12:06] Because that's always one of the challenges of dealing with large organisations

[00:12:10] and BA systems is no different.

[00:12:11] So, you know, we're trying to simplify that front end.

[00:12:14] Then, of course, what we're trying to do is recognise that

[00:12:18] everybody brings into that arena, everybody brings something.

[00:12:22] So respecting and valuing what individual parties bring,

[00:12:26] whether it be academia or a small medium enterprise company,

[00:12:29] or even indeed a large international organisation, you know, huge blue chips,

[00:12:35] recognise that they bring intellectual property that has a value attributed to it.

[00:12:40] So this isn't about taking value away.

[00:12:43] It's actually about the together piece and actually working out

[00:12:46] that by bringing or creating an ecosystem, we bring these people together

[00:12:51] were joined in two or three bits of background IP,

[00:12:54] then creates some foreground IP that's joined the owned,

[00:12:58] then creates a novel solution.

[00:13:01] Of course, the model is really easy for us because it says in the sphere

[00:13:05] of our marketplace security and defence, then we want early mover advantage.

[00:13:11] However, these organisations that come with us, of course,

[00:13:14] once they see access to the new foreground that's created,

[00:13:17] they want to find alternative routes to market.

[00:13:20] We're really comfortable with that.

[00:13:21] But of course, we want exclusivity in our domain and market space.

[00:13:24] What we don't want is to start for them being profitable and viable

[00:13:29] by going exploiting it in a near adjacent to field.

[00:13:33] And by having that level of trust and collaboration principles enshrined

[00:13:39] with some very simple ways of protecting and recognising

[00:13:42] the value in background foreground routes to exploit,

[00:13:45] you start to see the best out of people.

[00:13:47] And it really does allow the magic to happen

[00:13:50] where you get these intersections,

[00:13:51] wherever he feels that they are valued and bring something into that arena.

[00:13:56] And something I don't think we talk about enough in this country is

[00:13:59] Britain is a hub for developing game changing capabilities.

[00:14:03] So let's shout about that.

[00:14:05] In your view, what factors make Britain such a fertile ground

[00:14:08] for R&D and defence technologies?

[00:14:10] And how do you at Volckerworks leverage some of these advantages?

[00:14:16] Oh, look, we absolutely agree.

[00:14:17] I personally agree with what you said about,

[00:14:19] you know, the UK being a fertile ground.

[00:14:23] You know, let's not forget the first industrial revolution happened in the UK.

[00:14:28] You know, we found ourselves in the cusp of the fourth industrial revolution.

[00:14:31] Now, ever anybody describes that.

[00:14:34] And I think the UK is very much boxing above its weight

[00:14:38] pound for pound against other global organisations.

[00:14:43] Why wouldn't it be?

[00:14:45] And you can see that in terms of what takes place through

[00:14:48] you know, I've already talked about the Royce Centre at Manchester University.

[00:14:53] But if we look at the the catapult network that's established across the UK

[00:14:58] and take a view in terms of what's there from the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre

[00:15:02] or the Composite Centre of Bristol or the Manufacturing Technology Centre

[00:15:07] Coventry, the Formula Be fabrication centre up at Strathclyde.

[00:15:11] All of these create great sort of nodes where

[00:15:17] academia meets industry meets SMEs and pulls through technology,

[00:15:22] contemporary solutions.

[00:15:24] You know, we've got great inventors in the UK.

[00:15:26] You know, let's not forget about where the worldwide web was invented.

[00:15:31] Still in the UK, you know, where was steam and automotive power invented?

[00:15:36] Still in the UK.

[00:15:37] You know, where was the first jet engine invented?

[00:15:40] It was done in the UK.

[00:15:41] So I don't think we should be shy about promoting

[00:15:46] the calibre of research which is borne out of having great people

[00:15:51] with strong education backgrounds, people who are very curious,

[00:15:55] seeking to improve society and push the boundaries of technology and physics.

[00:16:00] Then, of course, you just hang that to some superb engineers.

[00:16:03] And I go, the magic happens.

[00:16:05] We get great solutions that they should benefit everybody.

[00:16:09] Love that. And a question I've got to ask as well is

[00:16:13] there is this shift towards uncrewed aircraft systems or UAS and

[00:16:17] especially around autonomy and defense.

[00:16:20] So can you elaborate on FalconWorks contributions to that field?

[00:16:25] I'm not sure how much you can share around that.

[00:16:26] And also, how you envision these technologies evolving in the near future?

[00:16:30] Where do you see this heading?

[00:16:33] Yeah, I mean, the uncrewed aircraft system space

[00:16:37] or uncrewed vehicle system space, you know, as you say,

[00:16:41] is getting lots of public attention has risen over the last few years.

[00:16:46] I think, you know, firstly, from a BA systems perspective

[00:16:50] across all of our domains, lunch,

[00:16:51] CNN, probably one of our best kept secrets,

[00:16:55] the fact that we've been in this arena for over 25 years.

[00:17:00] And I would say this one day, you know, we were bringing forward

[00:17:05] pushing the boundaries of technology and being for solutions

[00:17:07] that maybe the market and possibly society wasn't quite ready for.

[00:17:13] And maybe even in some areas, the technology just wasn't quite robust enough

[00:17:19] over that two decades of a journey to allow it to be offered

[00:17:22] to end users in a reliable, repeatable and trusted manner.

[00:17:29] If you fast forward to the 2020s

[00:17:32] and you see how the small form factor computing powers improved,

[00:17:38] how access to effective drive systems or autonomous improved

[00:17:44] and the ability to code rapidly

[00:17:47] and manage all of the characteristics that allow, you know,

[00:17:51] you know, uncrewed systems to be developed, outscale that pace

[00:17:55] and introduced into all variety of elements of society.

[00:17:58] You know, really puts this into what I would describe as a game changer.

[00:18:03] You know, it is really sort of now how do we

[00:18:08] how do we harness this in not just in the security defense world

[00:18:13] but also wider society and I draw parallels maybe for those

[00:18:16] who was a certain demographic about we've seen mobile phones involved

[00:18:21] you know, as we move from the very early days of, you know,

[00:18:24] very clumsy, very incapable systems,

[00:18:28] you know, certainly couldn't do, you know,

[00:18:30] have all the embedded apps we've got today and there were lots of lots of providers

[00:18:35] and maybe not quite the industry standards and norms in place

[00:18:40] that regulated and control them to the degree that there is today.

[00:18:44] And I think we're in that transitional period.

[00:18:46] I think the user communities,

[00:18:50] whether it be commercial or defense sector will accelerate

[00:18:54] standardization of controls along with the regulators.

[00:18:57] Again, whether it be the civil aviation authority or the military aviation authority.

[00:19:01] So we end up with these things being more regularized and acceptable in society.

[00:19:07] You know, who would have thought, you know, in the 1950s,

[00:19:11] you know, people are drawing cartoons of the Jetsons.

[00:19:14] Well, how far is that away from having an autonomous born taxi

[00:19:19] and we see lots of mills being worked on across the globe

[00:19:22] and it's no different within sort of our defense that sort of defense setting.

[00:19:27] And I think the challenge we'll have is how do we use these effectively as part of an ecosystem?

[00:19:34] And indeed, you know, BA systems is positioned and Falconware is helping

[00:19:38] with the ambitions of looking at the next generation, the sixth generation

[00:19:42] future combat air system, which will have undoubtedly, you know, not just

[00:19:47] assets, which you've got human inhabitants in, but also have

[00:19:50] all crew systems as part of that bigger ecosystem to enable things to be undertaken.

[00:19:57] We've seen effectively the work that's taking place now with

[00:20:02] not just the Royal Air Force in the UK, but with the Army and Navy

[00:20:06] how they are experimenting and bringing these into the infantry for logistics

[00:20:11] movements and for, you know, doing ship to ship, ship to shore type activities.

[00:20:17] All of those things where they enable a delivery of a service at a lower price

[00:20:22] point and importantly, at a lower carbon footprint in terms of the end operator.

[00:20:28] So of course, you're starting to blend a whole series of complementary

[00:20:33] requirements of safety, you know, cost and also carbon footprint as these things come together.

[00:20:41] And you can imagine BA systems is is right in the mix of that

[00:20:45] in terms of looking at things which are expendable

[00:20:49] all the way through to things which are a lot larger in footprint.

[00:20:55] And I draw listeners to maybe looking at our website

[00:20:59] and have a look at the work that we've done with again, one of the elements

[00:21:02] within FalconWords are prismatic entity that's leading on Phase

[00:21:07] of 35, an all crew system which flies in the stratosphere

[00:21:13] and is 35 meters wide and sort of sort of weighs about 150 kilos.

[00:21:19] It gives an example of how far technologies come in the last few years.

[00:21:24] And you mentioned the jets since then, I've got to admit,

[00:21:26] I'm still waiting for my affordable jetpack that I saw and it was the 1984 Olympics.

[00:21:32] Any work going on there that you can fast track for me?

[00:21:36] So so we're not looking at jetpacks.

[00:21:38] You know, I think that I think I think what we need to recognise

[00:21:41] is there are some great great inventors and entrepreneurs

[00:21:46] within the UK and wider who are looking at what I'm describing as fringe solutions.

[00:21:51] Everything's got its place in society.

[00:21:54] I think what we're trying to do is cultivate and bring four things

[00:21:58] which you've got that more utility and maybe a less unique specialism.

[00:22:05] But of course, it you know, what's happened is that the barriers to entry

[00:22:08] are lowering and there's absolutely a place for all of those great entrepreneurs

[00:22:13] that are out there developing these solutions.

[00:22:15] And I think it's incumbent on all of us to encourage them to do so

[00:22:18] because even if that solution never finds its way into mainstream usage,

[00:22:25] it will drag forward the technologies, the underpinning knowledge in no

[00:22:29] how, but importantly, it inspires the next generation

[00:22:33] of engineers and scientists to go, I want some of that as well.

[00:22:37] And that's what really makes Bryn strong.

[00:22:41] Absolutely love that.

[00:22:42] And you also mentioned a few moments ago, the website and I was looking

[00:22:46] on the Folkworks website before he came on the podcast today.

[00:22:49] And I was also reading about sustainability and this focus that you have

[00:22:53] on low carbon footprints, net zero solutions, etc.

[00:22:57] So can you just expand on how you integrate these sustainability

[00:23:01] principles into the development of advanced defence technologies?

[00:23:05] Yeah, so what we're endeavouring to do is measure the through life

[00:23:10] carbon footprint of our solutions.

[00:23:14] That's important.

[00:23:14] You know, you're recognising that carbon, you know, the protocols

[00:23:20] are measuring scopes one, two and three.

[00:23:22] So we realise that whilst we might influence something in the design element,

[00:23:26] we need to understand the implications in the supply chain to feed

[00:23:31] that design, that solution.

[00:23:32] But also, you know, taking accountability and responsibility with our end users

[00:23:38] that we are giving them something which will not just be, say, affordable,

[00:23:42] but also have a lower carbon footprint through life.

[00:23:47] And that's borne out from, you know, some of our solutions.

[00:23:50] If you look in terms of the BA systems portfolio, looking at the

[00:23:53] air sector or wider, you know, from requirements to from customer

[00:23:57] or mainstream platforms through to disposal, we're measuring this in working

[00:24:02] lifetimes, you know, a full working lifetime or even longer, 40 years plus.

[00:24:07] Some of the shorter lifecycle problems, even so, are going to be

[00:24:11] in the hands of users, you know, for several years.

[00:24:15] So therefore having that wider consideration is sort of going to be

[00:24:18] the heart of it.

[00:24:20] Well, that also drives us to courses then thinking about that carbon

[00:24:24] footprint and starts to line up with the national endeavours of

[00:24:30] on-shoring, French-shoring, reshoring around some of the key elements

[00:24:35] of that system.

[00:24:36] Well, that's good from a national security perspective.

[00:24:40] It's also good from a carbon footprint.

[00:24:42] And all of us in society and on this call listening, you know, will

[00:24:47] have suffered all the way through what was taking place through the

[00:24:51] challenges of the pandemic to having these large, you know, global

[00:24:55] supply chains and then seeing the consequences of interruptions with

[00:25:00] challenges in shipping controls, etc.

[00:25:02] You're OK.

[00:25:03] So how can we cut down on that?

[00:25:05] How could we get things a lot closer?

[00:25:07] How could we design products which we are designing, we use

[00:25:12] ability and recycling in at day one so that we're not using more

[00:25:16] natural resources?

[00:25:18] How can we improve the yield for raw materials going into the product

[00:25:24] that's then delivered?

[00:25:25] You know, that starts talking to some of the things around additive

[00:25:30] and 3D printing.

[00:25:31] But it also talks to how we're creating the raw materials, whether

[00:25:35] they're metallic alloys or non-metallic that feeds additive

[00:25:39] technologies.

[00:25:40] And how do we how do we improve the energy sources on that?

[00:25:45] You'll not be surprised to learn we're doing quite a lot in

[00:25:47] batch attack.

[00:25:48] You know, we're understanding how we support our Air Force customers

[00:25:54] on their transition into synthetic aviation fuels.

[00:25:58] You know, people have got existing fleets of aircraft can't wholesale

[00:26:04] replace those with alternatives and indeed the alternatives are there yet

[00:26:08] at the scale may be seen in domestic and automotive.

[00:26:11] So working closely to recertify the products and find effective

[00:26:16] ways of delivering alternative fuels is key to us.

[00:26:19] Looking at hybrid solutions, we will have onboard generators to augment

[00:26:24] electrical power.

[00:26:26] And again, having those running through a variety of different fuel sources.

[00:26:33] So yeah, all to play for but really isn't that full front of us.

[00:26:38] Again, you know, recognizing that everybody in society is going to

[00:26:41] roll to be responsible with natural resources, not just today.

[00:26:46] We're thinking through that full life cycle.

[00:26:49] And looking at that mission you're on there at Falconworks, I was really

[00:26:53] how you've already achieved several successes and again, I appreciate

[00:26:56] you probably can't share too much, but is any successes that you can

[00:27:01] highlight or key milestones that particularly stand out to you

[00:27:04] and your team that you're proud of that we can shout about or

[00:27:07] share with everyone listening to them?

[00:27:09] Yeah, I think look, you know, I'm really fortunate.

[00:27:12] I'm surrounded by super clever people that do outstanding things daily.

[00:27:16] And I know that sounds tripe, but, you know, we're really trying to create

[00:27:20] an environment where everybody turns up to be the best they can be every day.

[00:27:25] Things that stand out in the last 18 months.

[00:27:27] I think, you know, without a doubt, I've already mentioned

[00:27:30] the endeavors of Prismatic was phase 35.

[00:27:34] There's an exclusive club of people who've managed to fly in a controlled

[00:27:40] manner, a pseudo satellite on the edge of space, you know, fixed wing

[00:27:45] aircraft powered by solar with battery, you know, battery tech.

[00:27:50] So it can sit up there for an extended period of time.

[00:27:54] Got to be a highlight, you know, in terms of not just the highlight

[00:27:58] from a technological standpoint, but also the highlight from watching,

[00:28:02] you know, how that's inspired the next generation of engineers and the

[00:28:08] sort of the column inches, you know, that my coms team enjoy seeing things like that.

[00:28:14] I think the other piece on this is what we've seen through the factory of the future.

[00:28:20] You know, the team have delivered

[00:28:24] a concept of a front fuselage for the next generation

[00:28:32] crewed fighter so that the tempest product sort of and using that as a de-risker.

[00:28:37] And of course, bringing together all that technology, whether that be

[00:28:41] model based systems engineering or whether that be, you know, sort of 3D printing

[00:28:47] and then producing this product full scale with, you know, people in the loop

[00:28:51] working with co-botics and robotics to develop a build of products

[00:28:58] which really have been a game changer and provides data sets to give us

[00:29:03] companies on business cases for our ambitions under the global combat air program.

[00:29:08] The final one probably worth a shout out is is the partnership that we have

[00:29:13] with Microsoft, with Microsoft, what we've been endeavouring to do is

[00:29:18] build upon the cloud, secure cloud based technology, but work on edge computing.

[00:29:25] And we did some trials with them in the last 12 months where we managed to demonstrate

[00:29:31] we could fly an uncrewed air system and treat it as an edge device.

[00:29:36] And in real time, send it new command information through its mission

[00:29:42] planet to control it and make it do different things.

[00:29:46] Now that was very clever for us.

[00:29:50] It means that you the computing power that's on board is a lot smaller,

[00:29:53] but really gives us that game changer in terms of how would you lead that into

[00:29:58] providing a solution and provide real time updates to the end users?

[00:30:02] How do you link that into swarming technology?

[00:30:04] How do you link it into collaborative of crewed and uncrew systems?

[00:30:11] And the pace of technological change continues to move ahead at breakneck speed.

[00:30:16] So if we do look ahead, is there anything you can share about future

[00:30:19] Falconworks projects that may be exciting right now?

[00:30:23] And also what impact do you anticipate that it could have on the future of air power

[00:30:28] defence technologies and so much more because it seems like everything's up for

[00:30:32] grabs with the speed of technological change at the moment.

[00:30:34] But what excites you about that road?

[00:30:37] We could talk an afternoon on this.

[00:30:39] Yes, you know, it's impossible to ignore computing power and the impact

[00:30:46] computing power has in terms of not just the speed of design,

[00:30:50] but also the control loops as you start to have humans in the loop,

[00:30:56] humans on the loop in terms of that decision making.

[00:30:58] And where that manifests itself in terms of artificial intelligence all the way

[00:31:03] through the design, how can you concept faster?

[00:31:06] How can you assure faster?

[00:31:08] How can you create automatically create control software, flight control,

[00:31:12] software mission control, software using those large language models

[00:31:16] all the way through into providing something to the end user?

[00:31:19] So, you know, really curious in terms of artificial intelligence for takers.

[00:31:25] Really curious word machine learning will take us and again,

[00:31:28] recognizing that you know, listeners will appreciate two very different topics.

[00:31:32] But conjoined as themes that could be game

[00:31:36] changes if we as engineers and scientists learn how to harness that.

[00:31:41] I think autonomy is broader sense

[00:31:45] will be very influential and more importantly, trusted autonomy so that we learn

[00:31:51] how to use the onboard computing, off-board computing power to allow

[00:31:57] missions to be delivered in a safe, predictable, repeatable manner to allow

[00:32:04] end users to deliver their requirements

[00:32:08] in a more affordable and adaptive and reflective way.

[00:32:14] One thing we know in society in the same way technologies

[00:32:18] evolving rapidly and changing as you allude to, then we also know the nature of

[00:32:24] threat, regrettably that our customers are facing is also changing in that same

[00:32:30] rapid way. So to be able to keep a balance in there from a deterrent standpoint,

[00:32:35] means that our tech in these sort of contemporary fields needs to keep evolving

[00:32:39] in that spiral. I think there's some interesting develops in materials.

[00:32:43] I think material science, whether we're looking in terms of metals or

[00:32:48] number of times is interesting, whether that be driven out of,

[00:32:52] you know, carbon footprint or the need to ensure ratio is interesting.

[00:32:57] And that's linking forward technologies such as hot isostatic pressing.

[00:33:03] You know, this is about upscaling UK PLC and wider

[00:33:08] ability beyond additive, but we're able to produce high integrity items at near net

[00:33:14] shape.

[00:33:15] You know, non-metallics will feature heavily about looking at technologies

[00:33:20] which have got embedded systems within carbon structures or carbon nanotubes

[00:33:26] where these are multi-form products which may be carrying stress,

[00:33:31] but could be carrying data or electrical current through the products that are then

[00:33:36] allowing them to be multifunctional in terms of the end use of the structure.

[00:33:42] And I think then you keep coming back to that whole piece of augmenting the human.

[00:33:47] You know, we've seen lots develop over the last five, 10 years around,

[00:33:53] you know, augmented reality, mixed reality, wearable reality.

[00:33:59] So the whole piece of of haptics and taking, you know,

[00:34:04] physical science, biomimicry and wrapping things around the human that actually

[00:34:12] allows them to be more effective and safer in their operation.

[00:34:17] So you know when to bring technology and computing bar in to cut in,

[00:34:23] remove the workload from the human to allow the human to focus on critical

[00:34:28] things, I think we're going to start to see these things with robotics or the rest

[00:34:32] of it spin off wider.

[00:34:34] You know, as we started to understand robotics,

[00:34:37] you start to see operations being undertaken using robotics to help in

[00:34:44] sort of that health care sense.

[00:34:45] You'll see more of this evolve and spiral a lot faster.

[00:34:49] As society becomes

[00:34:51] more comfortable accepting the role of tech,

[00:34:57] you know, that society will need to to embrace the tech in a faster way than

[00:35:03] the tech can evolve, I suspect.

[00:35:05] Wow, I think it's a beautiful moment to end on.

[00:35:08] So thank you so much for taking the time to share how your teams are working

[00:35:12] hard on early life cycle concepts, not just for what comes next,

[00:35:16] but what comes after next.

[00:35:18] And I was simply something we can do for you now.

[00:35:20] So, I'd like to thank you for spending your time with us today.

[00:35:23] And that is some of the biggest names in business, VC, funding and tech

[00:35:26] of either being guests or maybe even listen to this podcast.

[00:35:29] So is there a person you'd love to have a private breakfast or lunch with?

[00:35:33] Because he or she might just be listening.

[00:35:35] We might be able to make something happen.

[00:35:37] But who would that person be and why?

[00:35:39] Well, this is a really hard question because again,

[00:35:41] there's just so many people that sort of sort of rattled through your brain.

[00:35:45] I mean, if you're expanding the question and said,

[00:35:47] are they currently with us or have they passed?

[00:35:50] I would have had to have said, Sofrenny Page.

[00:35:53] It was a time of the aviation industry designer of a good number

[00:35:58] of the English electric products, including the lightning and the controversial TSR too.

[00:36:06] But if we look more closely for people who are still with us,

[00:36:11] I think then I'd have to plumb for a night of their own.

[00:36:15] Sir Richard Branson.

[00:36:16] I mean, you can't help but admire

[00:36:19] his entrepreneurial spirit, his innovation and the fact that he's across so many

[00:36:24] different areas of industry and society from whether that be

[00:36:29] entertainment to music through into transportation, air or ground.

[00:36:33] And now looking in terms of ambitions around space,

[00:36:37] I think we could have a really good conversation.

[00:36:40] And I think I think it'd be dead interested and be very inspiring

[00:36:44] to hear what sort of motivated to still be about forefront of

[00:36:47] sort of iconic position within the UK.

[00:36:50] Wow, what a great answer.

[00:36:52] We'll throw that out into the universe, into the ether.

[00:36:55] Let's see what we can manifest.

[00:36:57] Hopefully Sir Richard Branson listens to this.

[00:36:59] He would be a great person to sit down with.

[00:37:02] So we'll see what we can make happen for you there.

[00:37:04] Let me know if you do hear anything back one day, whether it be next week,

[00:37:08] next year or beyond.

[00:37:09] But other than that, for anyone listening wanting to find out more information

[00:37:13] about FalconWorks, BAE Systems and the work that you're doing here.

[00:37:17] Is there any way in particular you would like to point everyone listening?

[00:37:20] We've got loads of websites.

[00:37:21] Why don't people if they're really interested go to

[00:37:23] BAE Systems dot com slash FalconWorks.

[00:37:28] I think you'll find loads of interesting little articles on there.

[00:37:32] Keep watching. Add us to your favorites and let's see how we can keep inspiring you.

[00:37:37] And more importantly, make sure you tell the next generation

[00:37:40] of engineers and scientists out there that there's a great career in the UK,

[00:37:45] in science and technology, and they can be a part of it.

[00:37:48] Absolutely.

[00:37:49] And I'll also urge everyone listening to check out that FalconWorks website.

[00:37:53] So much great information about how you're exploring, developing and investing

[00:37:58] in new novel technologies in everything from hypersonics,

[00:38:01] information, advantage, vehicle space and beyond, of course.

[00:38:06] And I should also mention tech talent as well.

[00:38:09] So I would urge everyone to check that out.

[00:38:11] But more than anything, just thank you for

[00:38:13] investing a bit of time to help spread the word about this stuff.

[00:38:16] Thanks for joining me today.

[00:38:17] Thanks, I've been Neil.

[00:38:19] So a huge thank you to Dave Holmes of FalconWorks at BAE Systems for giving us

[00:38:23] a peek into the future of defense technologies, but most importantly,

[00:38:28] the vital role of innovation, collaboration and sustainability

[00:38:32] that is shaping that global security landscape.

[00:38:35] And as we wrap up today's episode,

[00:38:37] I'll find myself reflecting on this significant strides FalconWorks is making

[00:38:41] in developing technologies that promise to not only defend,

[00:38:45] but also preserve our planet for future generations.

[00:38:49] And I think it's clear that the quest for innovation in defense technologies

[00:38:52] is as much about safeguarding our way of life as it is about the art

[00:38:57] of the possible and exploring in the skies and beyond.

[00:39:00] As we talked about in our interview, it's not just about defense technology.

[00:39:03] We're talking about defense and augmenting the human and so many other

[00:39:08] interesting areas. So now I turn the microphone over to you.

[00:39:12] What innovative technologies do you believe will define the future of defense?

[00:39:17] And today's point, who is that one person that you'd love to discuss

[00:39:21] the future of technology over breakfast or lunch with?

[00:39:24] Sir Richard Branson, if you're listening, please contact either myself

[00:39:29] or Dave directly, cut out the middle man.

[00:39:31] I'm cool with it if you want, if you would like to make Dave's breakfast or

[00:39:35] lunch wish come true, but I'd love to hear your thoughts too.

[00:39:38] So email me tech blog writer outlook dot com Twitter, LinkedIn,

[00:39:43] Instagram just at Neil Seaheuse.

[00:39:45] Share your thoughts.

[00:39:46] Let's keep this conversation going.

[00:39:48] And remember in the world of technology and defense,

[00:39:51] what comes after next might just be what we decide to innovate today.

[00:39:56] While you ponder that, I'm going to rest my vocal cords

[00:39:59] because I've got another guest lined up for your listening pleasure tomorrow.

[00:40:02] We'll discuss a completely different topic of how technology is

[00:40:06] transforming our lives, work and indeed world.

[00:40:10] Hopefully you'll join me then.

[00:40:11] Thanks for listening.

[00:40:12] See you all tomorrow.