What we do
The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) ensures that innovative science and technology contribute to the defence and security of the UK.
We supply specialist services to the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and wider government. 60% of MOD’s science and technology programme (total funding: £410 million) is supplied by our external partners in industry and academia worldwide.

Who we are
As a trading fund of MOD, Dstl is run along commercial lines. It is one of the principal government organisations dedicated to science and technology in the defence and security field.

Our Centre for Defence Enterprise (CDE) is the point of contact for suppliers with innovative ideas to bid for proof-of-concept research funding.

Dstl’s specialist facilities are available for use by other government departments and non-government organisations. The indoor ballistics range offers a small-arms ballistics and fragment firing capability to assess the ballistic effects of weapon performance; the UK Home Made Explosives (HME) facility carries out research to counter the threat from improvised or home made explosives; our secure waste disposal facility, the Destructor Complex, provides a specialist disposal solution for hazardous or high security waste materials.