The Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN) Hunter class frigates will be equipped with Ultra Maritime Australia’s advanced 2150 Bow Sonar system, delivering a significant boost to Australia’s undersea warfare capabilities. The Hunter Class Frigate Program is the largest surface ship project in Australia’s defence history. Mawson Lakes-based Ultra Maritime has secured the contract with BAE Systems Australia, that is leading delivery of the Hunter program at the Osborne Naval Shipyard. The hull-mounted sonar will provide active and passive anti-submarine warfare modes, mine and obstacle avoidance sonar, integrated underwater communications and automated torpedo detection, classification and localisation. Vice President and General Manager ...

Saab has officially opened its new state-of-the-art Sovereign Combat Systems Collaboration Centre (SCSCC) and expanded headquarters at Mawson Lakes. The SCSCC aims to strengthen Australia’s sovereign defence capability with Saab and its partners to utilise the centre for software development, systems integration, testing and prototyping. Supported by a $22.6 million grant from the Australian Government's Modern Manufacturing Initiative, the SCSCC is poised to play a crucial role in developing a sustainable combat systems industry. Saab has been a leader in Australian Combat systems capability for more than three decades, and Saab Australia Managing Director Andy Keough CSC said the investment ...

The state’s naval shipbuilding and submarine construction workforce has received a significant boost, with the Federal Government investing $480 million into the build of a new Skills and Training Academy at Osborne in South Australia. Construction has now commenced on the Skills and Training Academy (STA) Campus, which will strengthen South Australia’s industrial workforce by providing dedicated training facilities near the Osborne Submarine Construction Yard. Once completed, the STA Campus will provide the necessary infrastructure to deliver a full suite of training and qualifications required by the state’s shipbuilding and nuclear-powered submarine workforce. Aimed at stimulating the submarine construction yard, ...

Global consulting, construction and engineering company Egis is the latest international giant to join the Defence and Space Landing Pad at South Australia’s Lot Fourteen innovation district. For more than 40 years, Egis has been operating in Australia, boasting a 20,000-strong workforce and offices across the country. By expanding its national footprint into South Australia, Egis hopes to capitalise on defence industry opportunities through AUKUS, building on its international expertise in complex nuclear engineering, nuclear governance and waste repositories. The company is also looking to leverage the state’s strong economy, green energy transition and help address the housing crisis, after ...

South Australia’s Edinburgh Defence Precinct will be home to advanced long-range radar systems from 2027, after it was announced Australian manufacturer CEA Technologies would equip the Australian Army with the cutting-edge technology. The Canberra-headquartered company, which has an Adelaide office, will provide 14 multi-mission phased array radars (MMPARs) to the Army, under a $272 million contract with the Australian Government. The radars will enhance the Army’s long-range fires capability by improving monitoring of potential threats. Once completed, the radars will be employed  by the 10th Brigade based at Edinburgh Defence Precinct, enhancing its operational effectiveness. The 10th Brigade is a ...

South Australian defence manufacturer Codan Limited has launched a new radio communications production line to scale-up local manufacturing of its advanced radio technology for the Australian Army's new Small Uncrewed Aerial System (SUAS). The Adelaide-headquartered company has secured a significant contract with the Australian Defence Force to integrate its Sentry Mesh 6161 radio into a fleet of CorvoX drones, being designed and developed by Melbourne-based company Sypaq Systems. Codan will also be supplying product through Quantum Systems, with both projects part of the ADF’s DEF129 Uncrewed Aerial System program. Under the contract, Codan will support the manufacture and delivery of ...

Babcock Australasia has secured a $30 million contract to deliver lift and hoist systems for the Royal Australian Navy’s first three Hunter class frigates. Work on the program will be conducted as part of its partnership with BAE Systems Maritime Australia and is the second key project to be delivered by Babcock on the Hunter program after also being selected to manage the fleet’s Air Weapons Handling Systems. Andrew Cridland, CEO of Babcock Australasia, said the project represented the company’s commitment to enhancing operational efficiency and safety in naval operations. “The ability to effectively move stores around a ship is ...

Leading South Australian aerospace composite manufacturer Airspeed has successfully completed its first captive carry flight test of a supersonic target prototype onboard its Marchetti S211 R&D platform. The company, based at Mawson Lakes, recently celebrated the project milestone, in a major step towards strengthening Australia’s sovereign aerospace capability. The team at Airspeed have been developing the customised prototype – known as Irukandji – which is powered by a solid rocket motor. It uses a variant of the 10-inch filament-wound cases the company already manufacturers for the Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG) and Thales Australia. The prototype is aerodynamically similar ...

Leading South Australian precision component manufacturer, Levett Engineering, will manufacture and supply stacking frames to support the Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN) strike missile (NSM) capability, under a new contract with Kongsberg Defence Australia. The stacking frames, to be built at the company’s manufacturing facility in Adelaide’s north, will be used to transport NSM launcher missile modules, which are being delivered under Project SEA 1300 Phase 1. Konsberg continues to expand its local supply chain as it supports the NSM acquisition and development program that will deliver advanced guided weapons to Australia’s Navy, boosting its capability advantage in a changing threat ...

Leading South Australian provider of portable power solutions and electronic systems, REDARC, has acquired the intellectual property (IP) of local electronic warfare company, Asension, in a move that will protect critical sovereign Defence capabilities. The acquisition is set to bolster the technical knowledge and expertise of REDARC Defence & Space, which is dedicated to delivering cutting-edge technology to meet the evolving demands of the defence and space industries. Asension, which announced it had entered voluntary administration earlier this year, was founded in 2018 as an innovative electronic components, sensor, and system provider, focused on developing technology for Australia’s Department of Defence ...

Adelaide-based Trellis Data and US-headquartered global platform provider Vantiq have announced a strategic partnership that will bring cutting-edge generative AI capabilities to the AUKUS partnership. The collaboration will focus on improving situational awareness and decision-making in defence operations, through the integration of advanced AI technologies and real-time data processing and analysis. A leading provider of sovereign AI solutions for the defence and national security sectors, Trellis Data provides advanced speech-to-text capabilities, computer vision and knowledge mastery, which can be used to analyse and interpret large volumes of data from various sources. Integrating Trellis Data’s solutions with Vantiq’s leading platform for ...

Leading US company SNC has set up their Australian subsidiary at Adelaide’s global innovation district, Lot Fourteen. SNC AUS complements the company’s existing presence in the US and UK and is aligned with the AUKUS trilateral security partnership and the company’s intention to create robust future capabilities in the Australian defence sector. With more than 40 locations worldwide, SNC specialises in aircraft modification and integration, electronic warfare technologies, and innovative software solutions across all domains. SNC Senior Vice President of Business Development Stu Wildman said the company was excited to expand their global footprint into Australia. “This strategic addition to ...