Australian
Minister for Defence Industry Hon Christopher Pyne MP announced the latest Defence
Innovation Hub innovation contracts totalling A$13.4 million. The announcement
was made during Minister Pyne’s recent visit to Teledyne Defence Australia in Brisbane.
According
to official
press release, Minister Pyne said the Defence Innovation Hub continues to
deliver a more streamlined and agile approach to Defence investment in
innovation.
The significant investment in the Australian innovation and industry sector
is to ensure that Australian Defence has access to leading-edge technology. It will
also keep defence industry engaged in developing the latest technologies for Australia’s
defence.
The five innovation contracts announced include:
(1) A
$7.9 million contract to Daronmont Technologies in Victoria to build a prototype
radar capability that could be used to replace existing technology used by
Defence that is approaching end of life. It is the largest contract awarded by
the Defence Innovation Hub since it was launched in December 2016.
(2) A
$3.4 million contract to Teledyne Defence Australia in Queensland to develop a
vehicle-mounted Improvised Explosive Device detection and clearance capability
that uses an advanced radar system that could be integrated with existing ADF
deployable vehicles.
(3) A
$1.3 million contract to Sonartech Atlas Pty Ltd in New South Wales to
investigate the potential of improving sonar performance and classification of
underwater acoustic signals.
(4)
A $528,000-worth contract to Quintessence Labs to develop a resilient encryption
method that could protect sensitive data on mobile assets in uncontrolled or
hostile environments through Virtual Zeroisation technology.
As reported
earlier, Quintessence Labs was awarded a A$3.26-million contract to look
into the feasibility of the establishment of highly secure communications links
between two points, both fixed and over line of sight free space. The study is
related to threats for Defence’s secure communications from the imminent
arrival of quantum computing capabilities.
(5)
A $276,000-worth contract to Jenkins Engineering Defence Systems in New South Wales
to explore a cost-effective microwave-band Radar Electronic Support system to provide
automated warnings and recording capability of potential threat signals without
the need for a dedicated expert operator.
Established in December 2016, the Defence
Innovation Hub to facilitate and nurture the development of innovative
technology and ideas in support of defence capability. As reported
earlier, the top three priorities for investment in the 2017–18 financial
year are: (1) Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance, Electronic Warfare,
Space and Cyber Priority, (2) key enablers include critical infrastructure, information
and communications technology, logistics, science and technology, health
services, and future energy resilience, and (3) land combat and amphibious warfare.
