Wellington
Hands up those who knew we have a Defence science, research and technology team?
We do apparently, and the 70 or so personnel based in Devonport are in the process of beingreviewed. Readers won't be surprised to find the majority of the expertise is engineering-based,particularly around electronics and IT.
The Defence Technology Agency's origins are naval, and its earlier work on sonar has morphed intoa surveillance capability - particularly with regard to the refit and modifications now beingcarried out to the Orion aircraft fleet.
The DTA also has an overview and integration role for the defence forces' IT technologies, aswell as a small but significant capability in materials.
Last year's defence white paper identified the need for a comprehensive review of the DTA as wellas the provision of defence science and technology outcomes for NZ.
The three person review panel will talk with NZ stakeholders in the security, science andbusiness communities, as well as looking at overseas experiences and model for defence science andtechnology.
Interested parties will be able to make online submissions from late January through the DefenceForce website, with a final report due at the end of March.
The panel is led by retired Rear Admiral David Ledson, who is also current chair of MaritimeNZ.
Former MoRST chief executive Dr Helen Anderson, and entrepreneur and Endeavour Capitalfounder Neville Jordan are also on the team.