ABSTRACT
The introduction of networked, interoperable equipment under the aegis of network enabled capability seems to be pushing this adaptation closer to its limits. If flexibility, innovation and learning are the hallmarks of information-age equipment, then for military audiences used to considerably greater degrees of determinism this brings with it the appearance of an alarming lack of control. Equipment is not just manufactured: it is also 'designed'. Because it is designed it is subject to a range of diffuse interconnected influences, from competitive and commercial pressures to technology developments and user requirements. The cycle begins with an identified deficiency, a lack of capability, which is answered by expanding the equipment's functionality. Functionality is expanded by capitalising on the extra capability afforded by new technology, thus creating a new product which, like the wider motorway, is a more complex one. Military equipment is serious of course, problems still do arise and in this respect the military is unique.
