Transcript The Military Dimensions of Science and Technology

The Military Dimensions of
Science and Technology
Dr Stuart Parkinson
http://www.sgr.org.uk/
UK is major military power
• UK military spending 3rd highest in world
(£33 billion/ year)
• UK is major arms exporter (4th in world)
• UK one of 5 ‘official’ nuclear weapons
states
• UK forces have been active in recent
major conflicts (eg Iraq, Afghanistan)
• UK home to large military corporations
Military & UK science & technology
• Current Government policy
• increase use of high technology by UK military
• decrease number in armed forces
• UK is world’s 2nd largest funder of military
R&D (£2.7 bn)
Ministry of Defence (MoD)
• Annually buys £6 bn of military technology
• Annually spends £2.6 bn on R&D
• 33% of UK Gov R&D budget
• 40% of Gov R&D staff work for MoD
• 12,000 staff
• Main research arm is Defence Science and
Technology Laboratory (DSTL)
• WMD work at Aldermaston, Porton Down
UK Government R&D expediture by end-use (2001-02)
Defence
Civil space
Advancement of knowledge
Earth and atmosphere
Social development and services
Health
Environmental protection
Infrastructure
Energy
Industrial development
Agriculture, forestry and fishing
Other
0
500
1000
1500
£ millions
2000
2500
3000
UK Military industry
• BAE Systems
• Europe’s largest arms company
• $17 bn/y military sales worldwide
• Produces military aircraft, ships, missiles...
• Rolls-Royce Defence
• Produces engines for aircraft, ships
• $2.5 bn/y military sales
• Others include
• Smiths, GKN, QinetiQ, VT Group, Alvis
UK business R&D expenditure 2000-01 (selected)
Computers etc
R&D services
Recycling
Construction
Electricity, gas, water supply
Other transport
Aerospace
Motor vehicles
Civil
Military
Elec communications
Electrical mach.
Mechanical machinery etc
Pharmaceuticals
Chemicals
Fossil fuel/ nuclear processing
Mining etc
Food etc
Agriculture etc
0
500
1000
1500
2000
£ millions
2500
3000
3500
Military & universities
• MoD/ DSTL funds R&D in universities
• New collaborations between universities
and military (Gov & business)
• Defence Technology Centres
• Towers of Excellence
• Defence & Aerospace Research Partnerships
• Also business university collaborations
• Rolls Royce University Technology Centres
• Boeing Sheffield Centre
New military - university consortia in the UK - who was involved in 2004
UTC
Bath
Birmingham
Bristol
Brunel
Cambridge
Cardiff
City
Cranfield
De Montfort
Edinburgh
Glasgow
Glasgow Caledonian
Heriot Watt
Imperial College
Leeds
Leicester
Loughborough
Manchester
Nottingham
Oxford
Sheffield
Southampton
St Andrews
Strathclyde
Surrey
Sussex
Swansea
University College
York
*
***
*
*
*
*
**
**
***
**
*
*
*
*
DTC
**
*
*
*
*
**
*
*
*
*
*
*
DARP
*
***
*
*
***
*
***
***
**
*
****
***
*
**
***
*
**
*
**
*
*
*
***
*
*
*
*
*
ToE
*
*
*
**
*
How did we get here?
• Current UK military has developed from its
roots in British Empire, WWI & WWII
alliances, NATO
• Historical military domination of UK
government science & technology linked
to military position
Where are we going?
• Global security issues are very different
– end of Cold War, civil wars in poorer countries,
terrorism, US unilateralism
– increasing emphasis on technology
• Some recognition that root causes of war need
to be tackled
– eg ethnic tensions, poverty, natural resources
problems
• Need for science and technology to be directed
towards tackling urgent global problems
– eg climate change, global poverty
Ethical issues: a few examples
•
•
•
•
•
Nuclear weapons
Arms exports
Grounds for use of military force
Scale of military technology spending
Dual use technologies
Nuclear weapons
• For
Deterrence
Political standing
• Against
No defence against
terrorists
Conventional forces are
adequate deterrence
Encourages other
countries to seek
nuclear weapons
Risk of major accidents
Arms Exports
• For
Economic benefits
Employment
Political influence
Code of Conduct
controls sales
• Against
Code of Conduct
‘unenforceable’
Some exports go to
human rights violators
Heavily subsidised
Civil technology offers
better economic
prospects
Using military force
• Only in self defence?
• To prevent large scale human rights
abuses?
• To remove oppressive governments?
• To remove hostile governments?
• To protects national assets in other
countries?
• Only with UN approval?
Scale of military tech spending
• Keep current high levels so UK can
continue to pursue current policies?
• Divert some military tech funding so more
can be spent on dealing with, eg, climate
change, poverty?
Dual use technologies
• Dual use technologies can be used for
both civil and military purposes
– should there be restrictions on R&D which
has military applications to prevent it ‘getting
into the wrong hands’?
– what effect might restrictions have on
openness in science?
As engineers, where do you stand?
• Pacifist
– Focus on civilian projects
– Only work on military
projects when aim is
disarmament
• Defence-only advocate
– Only work military projects
which are defensive in
nature
– Government must have
‘Defensive Defence’ policy
• Military interventionist
– Work on any military
project in UK or allied
country or company
– Current UK Government
military policy is acceptable
• Nihilist
– Work on any military
project offered anywhere in
the world, regardless of
ethical concerns