The Evolution of Mission Engineering Within the Military Context

The development of modern technological warfare has made it essential for military strategic planning to consider connectivity, integration, interoperability, and operational alignment of capabilities at every stage, from military theatre concepts through acquisition and sustainment. Mission Engineering (ME) evolved from generic Systems Engineering (SE) practices to become a specialised methodology aimed at integrated digital disciples. ME is based on the SE structured approach and involves identifying military mission requirements based on the threat environment, defining force effects, and then identifying capabilities to meet functional requirements. By aligning the needs of the warfighter with program management, ME enhances the responsiveness of acquisition processes and creates an asymmetric advantage in the battlespace. ME's platform-agnostic approach focuses on the function of mission capability rather than form; this provides the warfighter with enhanced agility while reducing the burden of programmatic management for the acquisition organisation. Integrating SE into the design, development, and delivery of capabilities from an enterprise perspective leads to a more integrated and interoperable force. This paper proposes the next evolution of the ME 'golden thread', including industry and academia, to align research and development opportunities with emerging Defence requirements. This will improve the effectiveness of Defence in meeting its future force operational objectives.