Exail says it will hire 100 across three sites if awarded mine countermeasures contract

French defence technology company Exail has said it will hire over 100 across three NSW sites if it is successful in securing the Royal Australian Navy’s SEA 1905 – Maritime Mine Countermeasures Program contract.

In a statement on Friday, Exail said hires would be made in a variety of disciplines, with most of these across artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, software engineering, research and development, logistics and supply chain management, naval robotics, and project management.

“Securing the SEA 1905 contract would allow us to not only bring state-of-the-art technologies to Australia but also to create genuine high-value, long-term employment opportunities in the country,” said Exail SEA 1905 Capture Lead Daniel Scourzic. 

“We’re talking about jobs in major high-tech areas from AI and cybersecurity to software for mission management, leveraging our very successful UMISOFT software suite as well as robotics. Our aim is to make Australia a hub of cutting-edge naval robotics technologies.”

Exail has partnered with companies including UGL, Acacia Systems, Solutions from Silicon and Mission Systems on the program.

It would co-locate with UGL on one of the proposed sites, at North Sydney, with another site at Botany Bay and the main facility at a planned Centre of Excellence planned in the Port Kembla area, which will be home to “secure storage, training and advanced maintenance facilities where deeper-level maintenance will take place”.

The sites would cumulatively cover over 10,000 square metres.

Exail and its team plan to develop mine countermeasure (MCM) drones for the upcoming minesweeping ships being developed for the Royal Australian Navy. The new ships will replace the four Huon class minehunters from the mid-2020s onwards.

Picture: Scourzic (right) and UGL Managing Director Doug Moss (left) at UGL’s headquarters in North Sydney (supplied)

Further reading

Mission Systems technology adopted for mine countermeasure drone