Clunking Royal Navy bureaucracy consolidates defence tech under "Disruptive Capabilities and Technologies Office"

The UK Royal Navy has combined the former OCTO, NavyX and AI Cell to create the "Disruptive Capabilities and Technologies Office".

The unit's task is to rapidly prototype, test and deploy advanced technologies to support operations at sea and to address the navy’s more pressing operational challenges.

"Different to how the teams worked in the past, the DCTO will have an entrepreneurial mindset to ensure they drive groundbreaking innovation forward and will support its people to be successful while building on previous work around autonomy, AI and other emerging technologies," said the navy.

Their first prototype project is already in progress and drew on lessons from the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and applying them to mitigate operational risks to the Royal Navy.

It has seen the delivery of new autonomous systems but also training and framework for the adoption of other autonomous equipment to the front line.

For the project, the navy said the team has worked closely with regulators, policymakers, planners and Royal Navy and Royal Marines personnel to ensure a seamless transition from concept to deployment.

Under the formation of the new team, the DCTO will also continue to use experimentation ship Patrick Blackett as both a testbed for established systems and a floating laboratory for newer technologies.

There will also be a sea-going element known as the Fleet Experimental Squadron, nested within the Surface Flotilla but part of the Develop Directorate.

"The squadron will experiment, iterate and scale future autonomous vessels and is a throwback to the Royal Navy of the Victorian era when experimental squadrons were used to test and trial cutting-edge technology of the time," said the navy.

It will be commanded by a Principal Warfare Officer of Commander rank and will be charged with understanding and pushing shifts in technology from AI-enabled ship operating systems to laser-directed weapons and operating uncrewed surface vessels.

With bureaucracy, and particularly British bureaucracy, being so unconducive to entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation it isn't funny, we expect this to be yet another colossal waste of taxpayer money, but would love to be proven wrong.