Research on defence capability development and defence innovation
The Department of systems science for defence and security focuses its research on defence capability development and defence innovation. The department is the academic home of defence capability development.
The field is multifaceted and relates to both military and societal aspects of defence. The area includes, among other things, management-related topics such as innovation management, defence acquisition, and capability management and technology-related topics such as systems engineering, research and development approaches, and defence logistics.
Develop defence capabilities
Understanding and effectively formulating ideas about defence capability as well as how it should be developed is important to ensure that a society's military and civil defence are developed based on relevant assumptions about future defence challenges. To support this, the Department of systems science for defence and security focuses its research on the area of capability development and defence innovation.
Collaboration with authorities and industry
The research is conducted in collaboration with defence authorities such as the Swedish Armed Forces and the Defence Materiel Administration and the defence industry. The research is also often conducted in collaboration with other universities.
The research area of capability development and defence innovation also affects how the department directs research in areas such as cyber defence, AI development, sustainable development, technology development and fortification. The focus within such research is usually on how societal development and technology development interact with capability development and defence innovation to create or influence defence capability.
Publications
The department's research in capability development and defence innovation is published in academic journals. See examples below:
- Dansarie, M. et al. (2025), Crowd Assessment of the Military Utility of Future Technologies, Scandinavian Journal of Military Studies
- Lundmark, M. (2025), Europeisk strategisk autonomi inom försvarsområdet: Vägval för militära försörjningskedjor till följd av Rysslands fullskaliga invasion av Ukraina
- Welsh, J., Narby P. (2025), Reluctant middlemen: the imaginary of defense requirementsengineering, Defence Studies
- Barquet, Karina et al. (2025), Securing the Baltic Sea’s built seascapes: Balancing innovation, security, and sustainability, Open Access Government
- Kihlander, Ingrid et al. (2024) Critical Factors to Consider When Designing an Innovation Management System, Research technology management
- Liwång, H., Andersson, K., Bang, M., Malmio, I., & Tärnholm, T. (2023), How can systemic perspectives on defence capability development be strengthened? Defence Studies
- Malmio, I. (2023), Ethics as an enabler and a constraint – Narratives on technology development and artificial intelligence in military affairs through the case of Project Maven, Technology in Society
- Amann, D., Kihlander, I., & Magnusson, M. (2023), Managing affordability in concept development of complex product systems (CoPS), Technology Analysis & Strategic Management
- Liwång, H. (2022), Defense development : The role of co-creation in filling the gap between policy-makers and technology development, Technology in Society
- Modig, O., & Andersson, K. (2022), Military Innovation as the Result of Mental Models of Technology, Scandinavian Journal of Military Studies
- Tärnholm, T., & Liwång, H. (2022), Military organisations and emerging technologies – How do unmanned systems find a role in future navies? Journal of Military Studies
- Lundmark, M. (2022), The Evolution Towards the Partial Strategic Autonomy of Sweden’s Essential Security Interests, Defence and Peace Economics
- Silfverskiöld, S., Andersson, K., & Lundmark, M. (2021), Does the method for Military Utility Assessment of Future Technologies provide utility? Technology in Society