Assessment of military value

The aim of the project is to strengthen the scientific basis for the assessment of military value. The focus is on methodological development in the area of methods for the management of technology and capability development. This is, among other things, an important prerequisite for high-quality technology forecasting.

The project is based on documents describing technologies with potential relevance for defence and security from a forward-looking perspective. A selection of documents will be analysed and evaluated in order to show if, and how, the technologies can contribute to capabilities, opportunities, and risks, ethical implications etc. Furthermore, results from the analyses will draw attention to the impact on the Armed Forces in terms of doctrines, methods and organisation. Particular interest will be given to proposals that can deliver strategic/operational and economically beneficial changes.

Contributions to capability development

The research will support the Armed Forces' Perspective Study, Research and Development (“Forskning och Utveckling”, FoU in Swedish), and other processes with information and insights on the military value of technological innovations and possible future equipment. The aim is to better understand how technologies could contribute to the Armed Forces' capability development, and what the resulting implications might be of such technical developments.

The military uses, and the assessed relevance of scanned and prognosticated material, is the focus of the research, as practical and ethical aspects may differ from what is technically feasible.

The assessed technologies may demonstrate benefits to military operations at large, to the Armed Forces, partners or adversaries.

The research is carried out within the framework of the Armed Forces Research and Technology Development programme.