QinetiQ redefines its Qualification services

By Malcolm Rich, Head of Sales for Electromagnetics, QinetiQ

QinetiQ* is a relatively new brand but brings together capabilities and facilities, which have a distinguished pedigree covering all aspects of EM equipment and platform qualification. The challenge for QinetiQ is how to organise these often geographically disparate facilities and capabilities into a commercially focused organisation, offering capabilities and solutions to both government and industry.

QinetiQ provides EM vulnerability assessment and Protection for IT equipment

To understand the problem we have to know a little about the history or the lineage of the capabilities and why the existed in the first place. For example, some of the organisations that were subsumed into DERA and then QinetiQ were as follows:

·   Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE)

·   Royal Armaments Research and Development Establishment (RARDE)

·   Royal Signals and Radar Establishment (RSRE)

·   Director General of Defence Quality Assurance (DGDQ)

Each of these had its own particular test and evaluation facilities located around the country at places such as Bromley in Kent, Malvern, Farnborough, Chertsey and Pershore.  However, when DERA was formed there was significant overlap in the Qualification aspect of these differing areas, primarily for EMC, covering research, development, test and evaluation. Additionally, each group was focused on particular military segment such as land, sea or air, which meant that there was significant duplication of valuable equipment and expertise.

Since the beginning of April this year, QinetiQ has gone a long way to amalgamate these capabilities into a single commercial entity. This group has brought together the following specialist areas under a single manager and organisational structure:

·   The Electromagnetic Environmental Effects group (E³) based at Farnborough and Chertsey

·   The TEMPEST and EMC test facility based at Bromley in Kent

·   The Marine Approval group based at Fraser in Portsmouth

·   Additional EM test facilities at Pershore and Malvern

Vulnerability studies and development of protection techniques undertaken at one of the many facilities at QinetiQ

MoD project support is provided on a wide range of land, sea and air projects

This new groups’ aim is to offer not only a ‘one stop shop’ for equipment and platform qualification, but also unique services such as Qualification Support. This uses QinetiQ’s depth of technical expertise to partner with industry as its Qualification authority having an input to a project from the bid stage, through design and onto final qualification and acceptance testing.

QinetiQ provides EM modelling advice for Airport expansionplans, which measure and assess the impact to Radar of proposed buildings and structures

The new combined group now covers the following capability areas:

·   EMC testing and consultancy to commercial and military standards with fixed and mobile facilities

·   HIRF testing and consultancy

·   TEMPEST accreditation of equipment and platforms with fixed and mobile facilities

·   Environmental testing to commercial and military standards

·   EMP analysis, test and consultancy

·   Nuclear Hardening analysis and consultancy

QinetiQ has accredited UKAS EMC facilities and can provide UKType Approval

The challenge for the future is to ensure that the new group has a defined focus for selling these capabilities not just in their traditional areas and markets, but to also expand into associated markets. To enable this to happen, there will be significant activity by technical, sales and marketing staff to clearly define our market offerings in terms of products and services. This will help our current and future customers understand what we do and how we can support them, which differs from the pre-QinetiQ approach of offering facilities and capabilities.

EM compatibility modelling and valuation of potential interference effects of new transmitter networks         

Notes:

*QinetiQ, formerly the larger part of DERA (Defence Evaluation and Research Agency) incorporates the bulk of the MoD’s non-nuclear research, technology and test and evaluation establishments in its heritage.  QinetiQ is one of Europe’s largest science and technology solutions providers.  Among its staff it employs many leading scientists and internationally acclaimed experts.  It offers a unique range of services, consultancy advice and test facilities. These include indoor and outdoor ranges for air, land and sea launched weapon effectiveness trials, wind tunnels, underwater target ranges and marine testing facilities, automotive test tracks and climatic testing laboratories.

Malcolm Rich can be contacted on +44 (0)20 8285 7302 or email mrich@qinetiq.com