UDT 2019, the 32nd in the annual Underwater Defence Technology event series, will open at the Stockholmsmässan Exhibition Centre on 13th May for three days. Stockholmsmässan is close to the city centre, well served by regular metro trains, with several large hotels nearby. Stockholm Arlanda Airport is only 30 minutes away by commuter train, which runs 8 times every hour.
The venue is the Nordic region’s largest exhibition centre and offers the exhibition plenty of room to expand, whilst simultaneously hosting UDT’s sister events – ITEC, which focusses on military training and simulation, and Electronic Warfare. 2019 is the first year that all three events are co-located, enabling attendees to spark new ideas, create new collaborations and partnerships, and extend networks. It also provides senior military personnel with a more efficient use of their increasingly precious time, thereby growing the number of officers in attendance.
Investing in anti-submarine warfare
UDT 2019 will examine how the underwater defence and security environment fits into a Total Defence architectureThe overall theme of UDT 2019 is ‘Total defence: undersea defence and security in a deteriorating global environment’. Sweden’s Defence Policy 2016-2020 establishes the Swedish approach to the deteriorating global security environment. It highlights that the underwater environment and specifically anti-submarine warfare (ASW) is an area in which Sweden is investing. Other nations are responding to the declining international environment in similar ways.
Responding to Sweden’s ‘Total Defence’ approach, UDT 2019 will examine how the underwater defence and security environment fits into a Total Defence architecture. The conference will examine how new and emerging technologies may be deployed. It will also consider how incremental developments in established technologies are enabling new approaches to traditional underwater defence disciplines.
UDT 2019 will look at technological developments, and adaptation of existing systems, to improve capability and performance. It will consider disruptive technologies and unique deployment strategies, with a focus on creating a Total Defence approach for military forces and civil marine security services.
Maritime challenges faced by countries
Although the issues that the country faces are products of its geography, many nations tackle a similar mix of challengesUDT 2019 brings together professionals from the military, industry and academia to focus on the cutting-edge technologies and developments within one of the harshest environments known to man. Sweden occupies a key geographic location in the Baltic Sea.
Although the issues that the country faces are products of its geography, many nations tackle a similar mix of challenges. These include: proximity to a key global trading artery; shallow littoral waters with many islands; critical national and international infrastructure in the maritime environment; complex maritime boundaries; and a need to operate in the global oceanic environment in order to assert national and international interests.
The core purpose of UDT 2019 is to empower those who serve their nations in joint, combined and distributed contexts by providing them with the most innovative strategies available in the undersea defence arena.
Military Diving Conference
The 2019 show will also host the Military Diving Conference, which was launched in 2018 to great acclaim. Focussing on the unique challenges of diving under hostile conditions, this two-day conference will share the latest technological developments aimed at improving the effectiveness, efficiency and safety of military divers across the spectrum of dive operations.
The conference will share the latest technological developments aimed at improving the effectiveness, efficiency and safety of military diversThe conference will also provide a platform for inter-service and international diver elements to meet and discuss capabilities and requirements in the pursuit of greater cooperation and interoperability. Industry will be on hand to demonstrate how their new solutions can solve these requirements, and share how others are solving common problems faced by those working undersea.
Interoperable military and civil defence
Sweden has been leading the VIKING series of exercises since 1999, alongside participants from the United Nations, European Union, civilian authorities, police, military and representatives from humanitarian organisations. VIKING is a practical extension of efforts to improve mission readiness in a time- and resource-effective manner - to build interoperable military and civil defence, and to build on work already undertaken by NATO to better connect joint forces within, across, and among nations.
Nations have unique imperatives as well as those they share with others when considering national defence and the protection of civilian populations. These imperatives are driven by external and internal factors such as population, geography, climate, resources, and the choices made by each society in response to both their national and international environment.
Re-examining the military models adopted
This is a unique opportunity for defence forces around the Baltic Sea to look at new development in technology"The current international situation is causing many nations to re-evaluate their choices, and to re-examine the models they have adopted for their military and civil forces. Sweden’s Defence Policy 2016-2020 establishes the UDT 2019 host nation’s approach to the deteriorating global security environment – that of ‘Total Defence’ – in which linkages between all branches of national security are fully interoperable.
The conference chair is Mr. Bert Johansson, Director Business Development & Strategy at Saab Dynamics AB, Sweden. “This is a unique opportunity for defence forces around the Baltic Sea, and elsewhere, to look at new development in technology and share experience relevant to this region,” Mr. Johansson said, welcoming attendees to UDT 2019.
