Bring back the boffins

There is nothing new in the defence industry calling on developers of innovative new technologies to meet the national need.

There is nothing new in the defence industry calling on developers of innovative new technologies to meet the national need (

Comment

, 29 October).



This is just a welcome return to the era when 'boffins' such as those in university science departments were able to come up with ideas that could win wars.



The best aspect of this is that it widens the input beyond the monolithic defence establishment and its fixed ideas about how problems can be solved.



James Hudson

Chelmsford

Essex