Digitalisation has an increasing role in defence and security solutions. Millog is a part of the Digital Defence Ecosystem, which aims to create new capabilities and businesses based on digital solutions for the defence and security sector through joint research and development.
Millog is part of the new Digital Defence Ecosystem (DDE), which focuses on digital defence and security solutions and innovations. The DDE unites Finland’s leading defence, security and civil technology companies and research institutes with the aim of creating significant new business growth in the defence and security field.
The ecosystem is rooted in the technological transformation that is expanding the role of digital technologies in defence and security solutions. The ability to utilise fast-developing civil technologies is becoming a critical success factor in defence and security systems. In addition, Finland has applied to join NATO, which is expected to open new doors for exporting Finnish technology and cyber defence expertise.
Petri Seppänen, Technical Manager at Millog, reminds that the technological transformation is also a cultural one: exploiting digitalisation to the full requires an operating culture that fosters cooperation, sharing and innovation. Joint research and development work is at the heart of the DDE’s activities, leading to new capabilities, services and products. The ecosystem is actively involved in the latest EU and NATO defence-industry initiatives, national driver projects and international networks.
– Defence technology has traditionally been expensive and more static than civil solutions due to different requirements. The DDE unites small and agile civil technology companies with major defence-industry operators in a completely new way, Seppänen says.
Digitalisation places new requirements on expertise
Millog’s goals within the DDE are to gain momentum and orientation for its digital development work and explore new growth opportunities. Millog will also support the testing of new systems and capabilities arising out of the ecosystem.
– At the same time, we are developing our own capabilities in areas such as using artificial intelligence in forecasting maintenance requirements, optimisation and situational awareness, and to guarantee availability, Seppänen says.
According to Sami Pitkänen, Millog’s President & CEO, the DDE provides Millog with an interesting vantage point on the latest development trends in digitalisation.
– The technological transformation and digitalisation of equipment call for new expertise, tools and methods in maintenance and life-cycle management. The best way to tackle these issues is to be involved in system development from the outset, Pitkänen says.
Focus on safeguarding customers’ operations
The aim of Millog’s digital development is to secure our customers’ operational performance in all situations and circumstances.
As a strategic partner of the Finnish Defence Forces, Millog’s involvement in the ecosystem is also an important step in competence development for maintaining the future technologies of the Finnish Defence Forces. According to the Finnish Defence Forces, many future capabilities are considered dependent on the capabilities introduced by digitalisation. Among other ongoing projects, the procurement of the F-35 fighter jet and Squadron 2020 will promote performance, digitalisation and system-of-system capabilities. Millog is involved in both projects as a strategic partner.
– As a strategic partner, Millog is a company that through its operations has gained extensive expertise of the Finnish Defence Forces and our challenges. The ultimate goal of digitalisation is to improve operations, and it is Millog’s practical expertise that enables it to generate significant added value in the Finnish Defence Forces’ digitalisation development work, says Colonel Jarkko Karsikas, Chief Digital Officer of the Finnish Defence Forces.
In addition to Millog, the founding members of the Digital Defence Ecosystem include Millog’s subsidiary Senop, as well as Patria, Insta, Saab Finland, Reaktor, Bittium, Unikie, GIM Robotics, Elomatic, Solita, Savox, the University of Tampere, the University of Jyväskylä, and VTT. The DDE began operating in fall 2022 and it was launched officially at the SecD-Day 2023 conference and exhibition on 8th – 9th February 2023. The ecosystem is coordinated by XD Solutions and it is also one of Business Finland’s growth engines, promoting Finnish exports.