www.dsto.defence.gov.

au
Operational
analysis and
research for Navy
HMAS Newcastle firing missile.

DSTO
defence science and technology organisation

DSTO has for many years been supporting the Royal Australian Navy (RAN)
with operational analysis and operational research assistance in work areas
ranging from exercise analysis through to operational support.
By measuring operational activities and analysing the data to arrive at
understandings, improvements can then be made to the RAN’s operational
effectiveness.
Collecting and analysing data from exercises is an essential building block in
understanding capability.
The individual studies carried out by DSTO generally focus on particular
client requirements.
However, when these outcomes are studied together, the overview this
provides can assist at the ‘big picture’ level of capability management, from
capability acquisition to warfighting application.

The Maritime Operational Analysis Centre

To enable this kind of synergistic approach to knowledge generation, the
Maritime Operational Analysis Centre (MOAC) has been set up jointly by
DSTO and the RAN with a mission to improve the operational effectiveness
of the fleet-in-being.
Although the number of exercises being analysed by the RAN has lessened
significantly in the last two decades, recent improvements in time, space and

DSTO: Science and Technology for a Secure World

Test firing of 5” gun on HMAS Parramatta in Jervis Bay.
Australian Defence Force Land Rover carried to shore by a landing
craft during Exercise Talisman Sabre 2007.
position information availability, together with a greater capacity to capture
and share exercise data, plus advances in reconstruction software have all
created new opportunities for exercises to be analysed more efficiently, and
most importantly, within the timeframes required by the RAN.
MOAC is working with Navy to exploit these new opportunities.
The expected benefits are seen to include:
• Improved training effectiveness
• Greater knowledge of current capability
• Identification and quantification of capability gaps
• Capability trend analysis
• Testing and validation of new tactics.
The aim of operations analysis studies is to provide results to decision-makers
that are objective, repeatable, predictive and defensible.
In order to improve exercise data collection and analysis, a measurement
framework must be established, along with an associated information
management system.
A standard and common framework for measuring and assessing effectiveness
from sub-system to force level will ensure the work is repeatable and
predictive. Smart information management – which includes the collection,
transmission, storage, archiving and search functionality of collected data
– and analysis results, will underpin the work and ensure defensible findings.
The data generated is also vital for validation and verification of modelling,
and other operations research activities that support the entire acquisition
cycle.

DSTO
defence science and technology organisation
 www.dsto.defence.gov.au
Iraqi oil terminal facilities in Northern Arabian Gulf - made more secure from terrorist attack with DSTO operational analysis input.

DSTO through MOAC is supporting Navy inquiries into the application of

a common measurement framework, and for improving the management of
the information involved in operational analysis and operations research.
These initiatives will ensure Navy is optimally positioned to undertake
operational release of new capabilities such as the Air Warfare Destroyer and
Landing Helicopter Dock Ships.

Operational application of the work

DSTO personnel who have provided operational analysis support to the
RAN Coalition Command in the Northern Arabian Gulf have seen from
field experience the need for a structured framework approach.
In this setting, the collection of operational data is being used to understand
normalcy, detect changes or trends, and measure the effect, and effectiveness,
of coalition actions.
The data informs a framework of measures so that the coalition effectiveness
can be understood, and so any changes can be detected and a considered
reaction applied. The operational data is stored by the coalition to enable
long-term trend analysis and for answering new questions as they arise.
DSTO experience in exercise analysis has greatly assisted the provision of
operational support to the RAN. In turn, the experience DSTO analysts
have gained on deployment has given them a better understanding of Navy
requirements and the application of Navy capabilities.
In both the exercise analysis and operational support scenarios, DSTO

DSTO: Science and Technology for a Secure World

experience has shown that successful data collection, analysis and storage
provides an invaluable long-term view of capability and effectiveness.
This long-term view is essential in a background of short-term postings and
deployments, providing the key to understanding the environment and to
making the right capability management and deployment decisions.

DSTO contacts and information

Verran Dutschke
Maritime Operations Division
Defence Science and Technology Organisation
Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat (RHIB) being launched from Phone: +61 (0)2 9359 3309
HMAS Armidale in Sydney Harbour. Fax: +61 (0)2 9359 3299
Mobile: +61 (0)413 851 479
Email: verran.dutschke@dsto.defence.gov.au
Postal: Level 4, Building 89
Garden Island FBE
Potts Point NSW 2011
www.dsto.defence.gov.au

DSTO
8147 SMS Dec 07

defence science and technology organisation