Marles pledges stronger defence industry, integration with allied supply chains

By Peter Roberts Deputy Prime Minister and defence minister Richard Marles has pledged to strengthen Australia’s defence industries and integrate industry more closely with supply chains of our partners in the Aukus pact, the United States and the United Kingdom. Speaking at Centre for Strategic & International Studies in Washington, Marles said a key objective…

EOS bolsters capital base, concentrates on defence

Defence, communications and space manufacturer Electro Optic Systems has bolstered its capital position with a new raising from shareholders at the same time refocusing the business on its profitable defence businesses. The Canberra company, currently conducting a strategic review of its diverse and capital-hungry businesses, successfully raised $15 million in a placement with institutions and…

Cyborg Dynamics and BIA5 complete unmanned vehicle

Queensland electronics company BIA5 and automation company Cyborg Dynamics Engineering have produced their first three Warfighter unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) Product Baseline 1 (PBL01) vehicles destined for defence. The companies were awarded up to $426,150 in funding under the Department of Defence’s Sovereign Industrial Capability Priorities (SICP) scheme to design, manufacture and test the UGV.…

Manufacturing news briefs – stories you might have missed

Aboriginal business forum kicks off in WA The Mid-West of Western Australia’s first-ever Aboriginal Business Forum kicked off this week to harness opportunities and celebrate recent successes. State government ministers launched the Geraldton event, and more than 200 people from local aboriginal businesses, state agency buyers, head contractors and local industry attended. The event supports…

Industry backing for large satellite manufacturing

A $71 million investment will go ahead to establish a genuinely Australian-owned Satellite Manufacturing Hub in New South Wales. The facility will be Australia’s first commercial hub for larger satellites up to 500kg in weight, able to carry advanced optical instruments, and focused on building Earth observation satellites. A collaborative venture with government and leading…

Business involvement to the fore in new Trailblazer programme

While the university sector has dominated news of those to benefit from the federal government’s Trailblazer Universities Program, industry involvement is becoming increasingly obvious and transformational. iLAUNCH hub, involving the University of Southern Queensland (USQ), the Australian National University (ANU) and UniSA, has now revealed details of industry research partnerships to be funded under the…

Excellence in maritime manufacturing – communication is the key

Today @AuManufacturing’s editorial series Excellence in maritime manufacturing coinciding with the Indo Pacific 2022 International Maritime Exposition turns to the issue of communications. Here Peter Roberts talks with Matthew Jones of Electro Optic Systems. If Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has taught us anything, it is that good communications are critical to success, according to Matthew…