The Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) was a part of the
UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) between 1995 and 2 July 2001. At the time it was the United Kingdom's largest science and technology organisation. It was regarded by its official history as 'a jewel in the crown' of both government and industry.
[Eds. Robert Bud and Philip Gummett, ''Cold War Hot Science: Applied Research in Britain's Defence Laboratories 1945-1990'', Harwood, 1999 ]
Formation and operation
DERA was formed in April 1995 as an amalgamation of:
*
Defence Research Agency (DRA) which was set up in April 1991 and comprised
**
Royal Aerospace Establishment (RAE)
**
Admiralty Research Establishment
The Admiralty Research Establishment (commonly known as ARE) was formed on 1 April 1984 from various Admiralty establishments. It became part of the Defence Research Agency on 1 April 1991.
Constituent parts on formation
* Admiralty Surface W ...
(ARE)
**
Royal Armament Research and Development Establishment (RARDE)
**
Royal Signals and Radar Establishment (RSRE)
*
Defence Test and Evaluation Organisation (DTEO)
*
Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment (CBDE at
Porton Down), which became part of the Protection and Life Sciences Division (PLSD)
*
Centre for Defence Analysis
Center or centre may refer to:
Mathematics
*Center (geometry), the middle of an object
* Center (algebra), used in various contexts
** Center (group theory)
** Center (ring theory)
* Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...
(CDA).
The chief executive throughout DERA's existence was
John Chisholm. DERA's staffing level was around 9,000 scientists, technologists and support staff.
Dissolution
DERA was split into two organisations, based on short-lived transition bodies known as PDERA ("privatised" DERA) - becoming a
commercial firm,
QinetiQ - and "RDERA" ( "retained" in Government DERA) - becoming the
Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl).
At the split, QinetiQ was formed from the majority (about 3/4 of the staff and most of the facilities) of DERA, with Dstl assuming responsibility for those aspects which were best done in government. A few examples of the work undertaken by Dstl include
nuclear
Nuclear may refer to:
Physics
Relating to the nucleus of the atom:
*Nuclear engineering
*Nuclear physics
*Nuclear power
*Nuclear reactor
*Nuclear weapon
*Nuclear medicine
*Radiation therapy
*Nuclear warfare
Mathematics
*Nuclear space
* Nuclear ...
,
chemical
A chemical substance is a form of matter having constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Some references add that chemical substance cannot be separated into its constituent elements by physical separation methods, i.e., wit ...
, and
biological
Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary ...
research
Research is "creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness t ...
. In the time since the split both organisations have undergone significant change programmes. QinetiQ has increased its focus on overseas research with a number of US and other foreign acquisitions, whereas Dstl has a major rationalisation programme.
References
External links
The former DERA website (Internet Archive link)QinetiQ websiteDstl website
Government munitions production in the United Kingdom
Evaluation
Government agencies established in 1995
Government agencies disestablished in 2001
2001 disestablishments in the United Kingdom
Defence agencies of the United Kingdom
Defunct executive agencies of the United Kingdom government
1995 establishments in the United Kingdom
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