U.K. Ministry of Defense selects BAE for SSEI

Published 30 January 2008

The Software Systems Engineering Initiative (SSEI) aims to reduce the cost and speed up production of the software; the government has identified such software as “the critical enabling technology” for modern platforms; BAE’s Military Air Solutions will lead a consortium to manage the project

BAE Systems’ Military Air Solutions has been chosen by the U.K. Ministry of Defense (MoD) to lead a pan-industry and academic consortium to improve the procurement and development of high integrity and safety critical software. The Software Systems Engineering Initiative (SSEI) aims to reduce the cost and speed up production of the software, while ensuring final products meet requirements. MoD has identified such software as “the critical enabling technology” for modern platforms but there has been concern that a more coherent and efficient approach is needed to further development. The software is used for defense purposes, managing network enabled capabilities, and complex infrastructure.

Management and research work is expected to take place across the United Kingdom in organisations and institutions such as York and Newcastle Universities, IBM, MBDA, and Qientiq. “We expect the SSEI will build on an initial programme of research, creating a body of experts able to provide consistent advice to the MoD — in particular into procurement and support projects,” said Jane Fenn, program manager for SSEI.