The brave new world of military technology

Electronic radio interception was also developing into a highly skilled art.

Encryption provided some security but intercept operators and intelligence interpreters knew such security was fleeting.

Even electromechanical encoding simply delayed that process until ways were discovered to duplicate the encryption method, then read messages using identical codes.

World War II British cryptanalysts led this technology with the world’s first electronic computer at Bletchley Park, ultimately reading enemy coded messages as quickly and easily as the intended recipient.

Transmission systems also improved, though this could come with downsides.

The 1982 Falklands campaign was Britain’s first satellite war, with a cumbersome though portable satellite terminal that could provide a direct link to operational HQ at

Northwood, outside London.

Providing both voice and data, it was “discovered” by the British PM Margaret

Thatcher, who insisted on speaking with the ground force commander, Brigadier Julian Thompson.

The exasperated brigadier told his signals commander “If that woman rings, tell her I am not here!”

Step through several technological innovations and today the internet reigns supreme.

With strict restrictions on travel now the internet with its multiple applications has allowed the business of many organisations, including Defence, to continue relatively uninterrupted.

It may not be the same as face-to-face meetings but it allows contact on many levels. It is, however, intrusive. A former senior ADF commander described Zoom as a “thief of time”, with otherwise non-critical meetings being programmed by remote connection.

That same capability will soon prove of immense benefit to Townsville’s new ADF simulation training centre that will host major facilities to use more electronic systems to conduct training and war gaming and, by extension, command and control systems.

Townsville’s proposed facility draws the best from existing digital technologies.