Reaper: real time data and precision strike capability (Copyright: Crown Copyright)
Cranfield is one of the world’s leading universities for defence and security education, research and consultancy. Our academics’ expertise ranges from energetics and forensic sciences to international stabilisation and cyber security.
“The future is ever more complex, uncertain and fast‑paced. Preparing our Defence Academy graduates for this reality is our greatest – and most important – endeavour. Cranfield Defence and Security continues to play an innovative and far‑sighted role in achieving this objective. Defence and Security’s deep expertise and reputation are key to ensuring the postgraduate education required of UK defence is world‑leading.”
Major General Andrew Roe,
Chief Executive, Defence Academy and Commandant, Joint Services Command and Staff College
Reaper: real time data and precision strike capability (Copyright: Crown Copyright)
Over 70% of our defence learners are serving military officers and civil servants.
Over 3,000 delegates and exhibitors, representing more than 700 companies, academic institutions and government agencies attend our symposia annually.
Students from more than 60 countries have studied Defence and Security with us.
Research in action
Smart home technology
Smart devices, such as connected appliances, light bulbs, heating devices and doorbells, often provide increased convenience, saving time, money and energy. As smart home technology becomes more prevalent, our homes are no longer entirely offline spaces, becoming instead complex ‘cyber-physical’ environments which can introduce a cyber-risk in our homes.
In collaboration with University of Bristol and Cardiff University our research has explored the potential for the smart home to ‘cyber-enable’ traditional crimes like residential burglary. The ability for a burglar to use home smart devices to enable a residential burglary requires both vulnerabilities and a capable and motivated attacker. Vulnerabilities could be technical within the devices themselves or inadvertently introduced by the technology's insecure deployment.
We identified several barriers to residential burglars exploiting the vulnerabilities associated with the smart home. However, if they are overcome, there is a significant risk of a 'crime-harvest'. At present we think there is relatively little increase in the risk of residential burglary due to smart devices. This may change in the future as burglars adapt to the emerging cyber-physical home and can also be affected by the ability of households to deploy the technology securely.
“Being a more mature student at postgraduate level helped me a lot. I was sponsored by my current workplace. The course has led me to work in a complex programme where the Australian Army is designing a new armoured car in conjunction with Thales Australia.”
Matthew Hume,
Systems Engineer, Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group, Australian Defence Force,
(Military Electronic Systems Engineering MSc 2018)
World-class, state of the art facilities
Several unique facilities and large-scale test environments, including those on the Ministry of Defence site at Shrivenham, are used by our students and clients for exceptional research. They include:
- Laboratories and facilities allowing investigation and design of radar systems and waveforms; communication networks and devices; autonomous platforms and intelligent systems.
- Cranfield Ordnance Test and Evaluation Centre (COTEC): where materials and weapons are tested and evaluated for governments’ agencies, defence suppliers and manufacturers.
- A £3.5 million investment in forensic facilities including a virtual reality autopsy table, crime scene investigation rooms and a simulated mass grave excavation site at our Bedfordshire campus.
Student anthropology forensics practical in the new forensic laboratories