How drone submarines are turning the seabed into a future battlefield

By Adam Bartley, RMIT University and Matthew Warren, RMIT University A 12-tonne fishing boat weighs anchor three kilometres off the port of Adelaide. A small crew huddles over a miniature submarine, activates the controls, primes the explosives, and releases it into the water. The underwater drone uses sensors and sonar to navigate towards its pre-programmed…

NIOA installs ballistics data measurement technology

Australian owned munitions manufacturer NIOA has installed cutting edge ballistics data acquisition technology capable of measuring real-time projectile velocity and location at the company’s Brisbane range facility. NIOA Australia’s General Manager – Engineering Rudi Bekker said the technology was a gamechanger in weapon and ammunition performance testing, taking accuracy diagnostics to the next level. Bekker…

Marand and Fairbanks Morse combine in components for N-subs

Increasing multinational collaboration among AUKUS companies in Australia’s shipbuilding sector is apparent in a new tie up between US-based Fairbanks Morse Defense (FMD) and Melbourne’s Marand Precision Engineering. FMD is a primary supplier to the US Navy of marine power and propulsion systems, while Marand has increasingly been penetrating defence from its origins in the…

Australian Defence Apparel steps up supply chain security

Military and law enforcement uniform and equipment manufacturer Australian Defence Apparel (ADA) is expanding their existing membership of the Defence Industry Security Program (DISP) to cover their Bendigo, Victoria factory. Once the membership is extended to their 5000sqm facility in Bendigo this year, ADA will be the only uniform manufacturer that has achieved DISP membership…