System Design Evaluation
System Design Evaluation Ltd (SDE) is an independent Technology Company whose core business is the provision of impartial design, development and safety management of munitions and weapon systems. Covering land, sea and air domains we provide technical support and advice to government agencies and industry.
It ranges from assisting policy makers to technical assistance at operational level in procurement and R&D. The extensive knowledge base, skills and experience of our multi disciplined project teams enable the SDE to fully support and populate the many processes that contribute to the CADMID cycle and Defence Lines of Development (DLOD).
The core activities of the Company are:
Military Safety and Environmental Management
SDE provides safety and environmental management services for tri-service equipment, systems and platforms and have undertaken the majority of munitions Safety Case Reports (SCRs) for UK MoD. This is achieved by combining the skills of our innovative design engineers with the experience of staff drawn from Ordnance, Munitions & Explosives (OME), Safety and Environmental Management backgrounds. This allows the formation of strong and dynamic project teams, providing a rational and pragmatic approach to safety and environmental management including the provision of Independent Safety Auditor (ISA) support. We have formulated many standards and developed safety and environmental management processes and procedures.
Military Engineering Design, Modelling and Simulation
SDE offer a comprehensive range of Design, Modelling and Simulation services to assist rapid, cost effective engineering design, validation and problem solving. This core capability is supported by specialist expertise and a cutting edge suite of commercial and bespoke software tools.
SDE has significant experience in the application of Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) techniques to support a wide range of engineering design, development and procurement programmes, including;
- Hydrocode Modelling for simulation of high-speed events such as explosions, projectile impact, shaped charge jet formation & fragmentation
- Finite Element Analysis (FEA) for assessment of structural Strength of Design (SoD), vibration analysis and heat transfer
- Ballistic modelling (internal, intermediate, external) to fully predict the motion of a projectile from within the weapon barrel to impact with the target
- Multibody Dynamics simulation for integrated analysis of the kinematic operation and SoD of complex mechanisms to aid design optimisation processes
- Computer Aided Design (CAD) enabling rapid 3D design visualisation, rendering and production of full drawings for manufacture
- System Performance & Effectiveness assessment of weapon systems, ammunition, armour systems or the solider system as a whole using SDE's proprietary ASPECT software
- These advanced virtual prototyping and analysis tools have been used to provide robust evidence and facilitate informed and auditable decision making whilst reducing the requirement for, often costly, time-consuming or impractical, Test and Evaluation activities
Weapon Trials Management
SDE provides a comprehensive trials service including planning, management and data analysis. Agreements are in place with a number of UK and overseas T&E facilities and the company is authorised to conduct trials on UK MoD Land Ranges. We can provide comprehensive and fully portable trials instrumentation, including Doppler radar and electronic targets.
LFIT - Live Fire Intelligent Target
SDE has also developed the LFIT (Live Fire Intelligent Target) where quantitative effectiveness data can be generated in a realistic tactical environment to allow the objective and auditable assessment of soldier system equipment including weapons and their interaction with the soldier.
Military Defence Systems and Services
Due to SDE’s independence and strength in depth, we are in a unique position to provide System Integration Support to prime contractors. This includes missile, indirect fire and close combat systems, together with integration, mounting systems, handling systems and ships’ magazines. Combined with our Trials Management experience we are ideally placed to undertake Integrated Test Evaluation and Acceptance programmes.
System Performance & Effectiveness can be provided by ASPECT. Weapon systems can be assessed against different target arrays, including personnel, vehicles, aircraft and naval platforms, conversely the vulnerability of the targets can be assessed against a wide range of threats. These models provide input data into requirements documents and higher level Operational Analysis models.
SDE is able to undertake Requirements Capture and Engineering for both procurement and R&D programmes. This ranges from User and System Requirements through to Technical and Sub-System Requirements. As a consequence the company has a clear understanding of the unambiguous statements required and that robust justification and verification statements are essential.
Combining ex-military and engineering staff, SDE is able to provide Defence Analysis ranging from strategic level to Tactics, Techniques and Procedures (TTP). Various tactical doctrine options can be studied, leading to optimised tactics for both training and operations. Scenarios can be developed, which form the basis of effectiveness modelling and trials, whose output allows informed Balance of Investments to be calculated and provide robust evidence for COEIA processes.
SDE has a number of experienced Technical Authors of weapon & munitions manuals covering the use and operation of weapon systems and equipment. The company has produced a number of JSP, Def Stan, STANAG, BR & AP manuals.
SDE is able to conduct impartial Third Party Assessments, we can draw on our significant design, trials, modelling, training and technical expertise to identify and resolve the source of equipment performance problems.
SDE personnel possess a wide range of technical skills that can provide instruction and process Training. Examples include: Safety Assessment of Gun Systems; External Ballistics; Production & Use of Firing Tables; Test Equipment; Technical & User Trials; Safety Regulations; Ship Explosive Safety; Armaments Incident Investigation.
