Equipping Australia’s armed forces -Nurturing sovereign defence capability from the ground up

The final part of our editorial series – Equipping Australia’s armed forces – looks at some recent programs highlighting the importance of utilising local expertise to solve local challenges. By the Defence Science Institute. The research, materials and approaches used in modern manufacturing are evolving rapidly and transitioning their target markets towards a much more diverse…

Equipping Australia’s armed forces – Novafast piping aboard frigate build

Our editorial series – Equipping Australia’s armed forces – ends today where we began two weeks ago – looking at the benefits for SMEs of meeting the stringent demands of defence prime contractors. Here Peter Roberts profiles Novafast International. BAE Systems Maritime Australia is working around the clock to commission one of the world’s first…

Equipping Australia’s armed forces – Make Our Future Together by Tom Kenyon

Our editorial series – Equipping Australia’s armed forces – continues today with an analysis of China and the global political situation. Here Tom Kenyon outlines how collaboration to strengthen strategic supply chains will drive value-adding and manufacturing. If there’s one word that contains some of the hardest challenges the western world will face in the…

Equipping Australia’s armed forces – equipping for future wars by Gregor Ferguson

Our editorial series – Equipping Australia’s armed forces – asks what war are we preparing for, are we buying the right equipment, is Defence agile enough to be making the right decisions, and is it communicating its strategies with the public. Dr Gregor Ferguson asks the hard questions. So let’s start with the headline figure:…

Connecting Australian manufacturers – by Alexander May

By Alexander May Over the past few years, the ongoing effects of globalisation have changed the manufacturing landscape in Australia, resulting in increased offshoring and importing. This has led to Australia ranking near the bottom in the OECD for manufacturing self-sufficiency, due to a significant amount of manufactured equipment and goods being sourced from overseas.…

Equipping Australia’s armed forces – the minnow and the defence prime

Our series – Equipping Australia’s armed forces – continues today with a focus on deepening relationships between defence prime contractors and relatively small Australian SMEs. Peter Roberts profiles Lockheed Martin Australia and Varley Group. It is easy to trace back the increasing complexity of relationships between foreign prime contractors and local SME suppliers to a…