Defence contractor Varley Rafael Australia has reaffirmed its plans to build an Australian production capability for the SPIKE LR2 Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM) and Integration Launcher System Kits (SIKs). VRA has already manufactured and delivered SIKs (launcher and missile control elements) back into the global RAFAEL supply chain for Rheinmetall’s LAND400-2 Boxer Combat Reconnaissance Vehicles.…
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Australia’s AI momentum examined A new report prepared by Forrester Consulting and released by the National AI Centre (NAIC) has identified the potential of AI for Australian businesses as well as current implementation challenges. Australia’s AI Ecosystem Momentum report took feedback from over 200 business decision-makers and AI service providers. The top three benefits were…
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By Bianca Le, The University of Melbourne It didn’t get much attention when US President Joe Biden launched a biomanufacturing initiative last September. But it should have. Biomanufacturing is about harnessing nature’s factories – cells – to make just about anything. That includes food. As Biden pointed out, biomanufacturing could boost food security at a time when…
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AIM Defence, a company specialising in applications using directed energy and artificial intelligence, has acquired high-altitude long-endurance drone maker NearSat, in a move that AIM says brings together complementary technologies and sees it “bucking the trend of innovative Australian companies being taken offshore”. In a statement on Monday, AIM said it represented a “natural fit”…
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Automated bricklaying machine manufacturer FBR has announced a strategic agreement with UK based shareholder M & G Investment Management to fund the manufacture and deployment of three additional next-generation Hadrian X robots for use in the USA. The three new Hadrian X robots will be built on USA truck bases and will then be deployed…
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By Peter Roberts BAE Systems Australia has batted off suggestions it will bid to construct nuclear powered submarines in Adelaide under the AUKUS deal. The company already operates a new shipyard built by the federal government at Osborne in Adelaide where it is constructing Hunter class frigates for the RAN, as well as a capable…
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The three AUKUS leaders, US President Joe Biden, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese have emphasised the industry building aspects of the tri-lateral plan to jointly develop and build nuclear powered submarines. The three leaders said in a joint statement: “Together we will deliver SSN-AUKUS – a trilaterally-developed submarine based…
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Australia is to purchase three US-made Virginia class nuclear powered submarines and follow on by building eight nuclear powered submarines to a new design designated SSN-AUKUS in Adelaide. To fill a capability gap with the retirement of the Collins class submarines Australia will host American nuclear-powered submarines on a regular basis as early as 2027.…
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Yesterday in our series – Celebrating Australian sovereign capability – Lance Worrall argued that sovereign capability is about a nation making things it needs, and policy with purpose. Today he identifies Australia’s priority sovereign capability sectors, and reveals where we are falling short. Over 30 years Australia overdosed on neoliberalism. The patient’s disorders include deindustrialisation…
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It is said that necessity is the mother of invention. Just as this drove manufacturers to new heights during during the Covid-19 pandemic, the same urgency is needed today as the nation rebuilds sovereign capabilities. Today our editorial series – Celebrating Australian sovereign capability – looks at the fortunes, and future, of one manufacturing SME.…
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