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UNITED KINGDOM AND NATO
18 Jan 24. Huge boost for global security with almost £1bn government investment. The UK benefited from £830m in the 2022-23 financial year delivering programmes and peacekeeping in more than 90 countries to bolster global security.
The Conflict, Stability and Security Fund’s (CSSF) investment delivers projects in Ukraine, Africa, the Indo-Pacific and the Overseas Territories among other places. Last year it more than doubled spending on cyber security programmes, with £25.5m spent on the Global Cyber Programme, the Africa Joint Operations Against Cyber Crime and bolstering the cyber defences Georgia, Iraq and elsewhere.
The Cabinet Office-led CSSF tackles the greatest threats to UK national security emanating from overseas, especially conflict, transnational threats and hostile state activity. The 2022 to 2023 CSSF Annual Report reveals how and where it spent money to tackle these global security challenges, such as assistance to Ukraine following the illegal invasion by Russia and countering Russian disinformation on the invasion.
The CSSF also plays a key role in strengthening UK and international partners’ cyber security by strengthening their cyber defences and supporting their fight against cyber-crime. For example the CSSF has also funded programmes in the Indo-Pacific region, delivering cyber exercises in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Japan to help test their response to a major national cyber attack.
Through the CSSF, the UK established a Ukraine Cyber Programme, providing £7.3m from the beginning of the invasion to March 2022. Following the IRR, funding for this programme will be increased by up to £25m, including £16m from UK funding, and potential for a further £9m contribution from international allies.
Ukraine was the biggest single-state recipient of CSSF-funded Official Development Assistance, receiving £41 m, an increase from £23.5m in the 2021 to 2022 financial year.
Cabinet Office Minister for the CSSF Baroness Neville-Rolfe said: “From the Balkans to Latin America, the Indo-Pacific and beyond, the UK’s Conflict, Stability and Security Fund plays a vital role in keeping people safe both at home and abroad. Improving the cyber security of our international partners is vital to the preservation of the rules-based international system and so detecting, disrupting and deterring cyber threats across the globe has been central to the CSSF’s work.”
Other significant areas of spending included projects in Eastern Europe and Central Asia which accounted for around 14% of CSSF funding (£119.28m) and projects in Sub-Saharan Africa which accounted for almost 12% of CSSF funding (£98.57m). In Sub-Saharan Africa the CSSF’s investment has tackled the threat of violent extremists by working with counter terror organisations.
The CSSF also manages the UK government’s funding of peacekeeping operations and deployments and manages the Rapid Response Mechanism with peacekeeping efforts accounting for more than a third (36%) of its spending (£301.8m).
In March 2023, as part of the Integrated Review Refresh, the Prime Minister announced the CSSF would transform into a new fund: the Integrated Security Fund (ISF) from April 2024. The CSSF’s transition into the ISF will link up our domestic and overseas security to strengthen our ability to export world-leading expertise to international partners so we can tackle global challenges such as smuggling, illicit finances and large-scale migration.
The Cabinet Office-led CSSF brings together several government departments, including the FCDO, Home Office and Ministry of Defence. The FCDO was the single biggest spender of CSSF funding the 2022 to 2023 financial year; it accounted for 81.7% of total spend (£678.27m).
(Source: https://www.gov.uk/)
11 Jan 24. UK government seeks ‘hard kill’ counter-UAS solution for non-military use. The United Kingdom Home Office on 9 January published a Request for Information (RfI) seeking market information and potential for a possible procurement of a ‘kinetic effector’ solution (better known as a ‘hard kill’ solution) for use in countering hostile or malicious drones.
By way of background, the RfI, in part, states: “’Kinetic effector’ is often referred to as a ‘hard kill’ or ‘hard stop’ solution, but could also allow the physical capture and retrieval of a drone […] Various methods capture, entangle or physically disable a drone, preventing it from reaching the intended target or carrying out the intended mission. Because of how they operate, kinetic effectors may be classed as ‘firearms’ and, as such, the operational use of them is limited. For this RfI, ‘kinetic effectors’ includes ammunition for existing firearms or platforms, as well as bespoke systems such as ‘smart’ weapons sighting systems”. The Counter Drones unit of the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC Counter Drones) coordinates appropriate activity with national equipment and training that is interoperable using ‘mutual aid’ for all Home Office forces. Police Scotland, Police Service of Northern Ireland, Ministry of Defence Police, Civil Nuclear Constabulary, British Transport Police, and the National Crime Agency also accord with the principles set out in the national model that, in future, will be covered under the College of Policing’s Authorised Professional Practice (Counter Drones) (APP) for the deployment, training and use of counter drones equipment. For access to the RfI document, email the authorities at the link below, requesting the RfI document related to kinetic effctors. A document will then be sent for completion and should be returned to the same e-mail address by 12pm local on 3 February 2024. For more information: (Source: www.unmannedairspace.info)
EUROPE
16 Jan 24. Türkiye Starts Work on AI-Backed 6th-Generation Fighter Jet. Türkiye has started work on a sixth-generation fighter jet that will be integrated with artificial intelligence (AI), a top defense official said Friday, in an announcement that comes as the country prepares to send its first homegrown warplane to the sky for the first time in the coming days. The domestically developed fifth-generation combat aircraft, named Kaan, will perform its inaugural flight “very soon,” Haluk Görgün, the head of the Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB), told reporters. Unveiled publicly last year, Kaan is one of the most important projects in Türkiye’s history. The warplane made a runway debut and successfully completed its first taxi test after starting its engines for the first time in mid-March.
Görgün said they aim to launch mass production of the first block as of 2028 and seek to ensure Kaan is powered by a domestically built engine.
The jet is aimed at replacing the aging F-16 fleet in the inventory of the Air Forces Command, which is planned to be phased out starting in the 2030s. The project was launched in 2016.
Kaan makes Türkiye one of the few countries with the infrastructure and technology to produce a fifth-generation combat aircraft.
Görgün said Türkiye has already launched works on an even more advanced fighter jet.
“Kaan is a fifth-generation aircraft, and we are already working on the sixth-generation version, and we must continue working on it,” he noted.
“The fifth-generation aircraft is defined by its invisibility, where all subsystems and sensor fusions are integrated. The sixth generation includes integration with artificial intelligence,” Görgün added.
“We had to, have and continue to work on the sixth generation to not miss out on it.”
Record exports
The profound transformation in Türkiye’s defense industry has been spurred by a score of Western embargoes.
Over the last 20 years, the transformation has aimed at reducing external dependency on Western arms through innovative engineering initiatives and domestically developed technologies.
The drive prompted the development of a range of homegrown air, land and marine platforms, eventually helping lower Türkiye’s foreign dependency on defense from around 80% in the early 2000s to some 20% today.
Görgün said imports consist of subsystems and various platforms but stressed the government’s determination to ensure self-sufficiency soon.
“We haven’t been acquiring platforms for a long time. After a while, we won’t be discussing platforms at all,” he noted.
The capabilities of Türkiye’s defense platform, spearheaded by its combat drones, triggered unprecedented demand that saw its defense exports peak at more than $5.5bn (TL 165.52bn) in 2023, up from an earlier record of $4.4bn in 2022.
More than a third of exports last year were made by Baykar, the developer of the famed Turkish combat drone Bayraktar TB2.
Görgün said they also managed to raise the export price to $65 per kilogram, reaching $10,000 for some products.
In 2023, the defense companies agreed on new contracts worth $10.2bn, almost twice the size of exports, he said.
Görgün stated that the industry exported 230 different products to 185 countries. More than 3,500 Turkish companies are engaged in the defense sector today.
“2024 will be a year filled with surprises and hopes, containing projects that we will deliver to the security forces and armed forces,” Görgün said. (Source: https://www.defense-aerospace.com/ Daily Sabah)
17 Jan 24. European Commission signs Grant Agreement to launch the LATACC. The Land Tactical Collaborative Combat (LATACC) project accelerates the introduction of collaborative combat by European coalition forces
• The European Commission signed a Grant Agreement to launch the LATACC project (Land Tactical Collaborative Combat) coordinated by Thales to improve the collaborative capabilities of European coalition forces.
• The LATACC project brings together 34 industry players and research institutes (including core team members Thales, Rheinmetall, Leonardo, Indra, Saab, ISD and John Cockerill Defense) from 13 European countries. The project is financed by the European Commission with €49m of funding from the European Defence Fund.
• With the return of high-intensity conflict, the project aims to develop a solution that will optimise and accelerate allied decision-making and response in order to guarantee operational superiority on the battlefield.
The LATACC project aims to enable the different land combat systems being developed by each Member State (such as the Scorpion programme in France, CAMO in Belgium, DLBO in Germany, BMS-ET in Spain, FNEC in Italy, Ledningsstödsystem Mark (LSS Mark) in Sweden, MIME in Norway…) to coordinate their actions in coalition with very short response times, while interfacing with other domains (air, space, cyber) as well as civil systems (5G, etc.).
The LATACC project, coordinated by Thales, is led by a team of experts with proven experience of complex land systems, and will benefit from the partners’ strong capacity for innovation in key areas such as cloud technologies, communications, sensors, integration of complex systems, robotics, effectors, AI and system resilience in constrained environments.
Over the next three years, the consortium of the LATACC project bringing together 34 industries will analyse the requirements of European users and conduct a series of studies to identify common operational scenarios, define interoperable open architectures that are compatible with current and future standards, and develop the key technological building bricks needed to produce advanced technology demonstrators.
Trials will be conducted under realistic operational conditions and during large-scale demonstrations to confirm the tactical benefits of land collaborative combat in European coalition operations.
A possible second phase of the LATACC project could develop additional functionalities and bring to maturity the key components developed in the first phase.
This initiative will define a European framework and tactical-level collaboration services to speed up innovation, enhancing interoperability between national programs as well as cooperations such as the future European tanks project, and will help to safeguard the sovereignty of European industry in the field of collaborative combat and the key technologies required to make the concept a reality.
LATACC is a good illustration of federation of a large number of industry players (major companies and SMEs), institutional partners (research institutes, etc.) and government agencies (European defence ministries) to tackle a complex topic with ground-breaking implications and strategic importance for the European defence community.
About LATACC
The project “Land Tactical Collaborative Combat”(LATACC) will improve armed forces’ collaborative capabilities from Brigade command post down to combat vehicles, dismounted soldier, and unmanned assets in high intensity conflicts. LATACC enhances legacy systems, develops new technologies and integrates them into a common European framework.
The partners are:
THALES France (COORDINATOR), Spain, Belgium and Netherland
RHEINMETALL ELECTRONICS Germany and Norway
LEONARDO Italy
INDRA Spain
SAAB Sweden
ISD Greece
JOHN COCKERILL DEFENCE Belgium
MILREM Estonia
AIT Austria
BPTI Lithuania
TELEPLAN GLOBE Norway
TNO Netherlands
STAM Italy
SENER AEROESPACIAL Spain
CLAVISTER Sweden
MBDA Italy
HELSING Germany
BLACKNED Germany
ELETTRONICA Italy
NEXTER France
SAFRAN E&D France
GREEN COMMUNICATIONS France
TNS MARS France
EVIDEN Bull SAS France
LARIMART Italy
The consortium will also involve two subcontractors:
INTRACOM DEFENCE Greece
ZMT Poland
USA
05 Jan 24. US Navy seeks “innovative proposals” to counter cross-domain attacks from uncrewed systems. Inspired by recent events in the Red Sea and the Gulf as well as observing the continuing escalation of drone warfare in Ukraine, the US Navy on 3 January issued notice of a forthcoming Request for Solutions (RfS) for a Counter-uncrewed Experimentation and Advanced Development (CEAD) system integration with C2 systems. The full RfS is likely to be released on or around 31 January, according to the government notice, which specifies that solutions are sought for cross-domain uncrewed system (UXS) threats.
“The purpose of this [request for solutions] is to solicit innovative proposals for addressing the challenge of countering multiple cross-domain uncrewed systems (UXS) that could be employed in coordinated attacks,” the notice reads, in part. “The government is seeking solutions capable of integrating information from undersea, maritime surface, ground, and air domains to effectively detect, identify, track, and mitigate multiple UXS”.
Organisations seeking to express interest must be members of the Expeditionary Missions Consortium (EMC2), which is the anticipated vehicle for an Other Transaction Agreement (OTA) to be used as the procurement vehicle. The project seeks to leverage insights in previous counter-UXS experimentation to develop more robust solutions to the increasingly complex and rapidly changing threat environment.
Interested parties should visit the EMC2 website (see below) to become a member of the consortium in order to be able to view the RfS when released. Primary and secondary points of contact for this project are and respectively. For more information: https://emccrane.org (Source: www.unmannedairspace.info)
15 Jan 24. US Army seeks industry requests for M-LIDS support, development and deployment. The US Department for the Army has issued a request for information (RFI) as part of its work conducting market research for the rapid development, deployment, and continued support of the US Army Mobile Low, Slow, Small Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Integrated Defeat System (M-LIDS).
“The system consists of Coyote Missiles with launchers, a 30 mm canon, a .50 caliber gun, an Electronic Warfare (EW) system, an electro-optical/infrared camera and a Ku-band Radio Frequency System (KuRFS) radar under the control of a Forward Area Air Defense Command and Control (FAAD C2) system mounted on M-ATV vehicles or Stryker vehicles that provides capability to identify and engage Group 1 and Group 2 UAS,” says the RFI.
“The US Army has a need to develop, produce, and maintain countermeasures against enemy-armed and intelligence gathering UAS’s operating at various speeds and altitudes which are targeting both US and their allies’ interests at home and abroad.
… The interested source shall have sufficient engineering expertise to support the integration of the overall system as well as provide development activities for the Counter-UAS (C-UAS) and Counter-Improvised Explosive Device (C-IED) electronic warfare systems (without a TDP) in accordance with United States Government (USG) requirements. The development activities will include both hardware and software capabilities. The interested source shall possess or have access to a facility capable of testing capability at the system and component level. The interested source shall have the capability of identifying obsolescence in the components and provide the USG with proposed replacements or redesigns. The interested source shall provide the USG with solutions to allow the M-LIDS system to be exportable.
“The interested source shall have the capability to produce, integrate and perform acceptance test of the M-LIDS system IAW USG requirements..
Deadline for responses is February 5, 2024.
For more information: https://sam.gov/opp/4ee54c13aaa640149b127535aea392e3/view (Source: www.unmannedairspace.info)
REST OF THE WORLD
18 Jan 24. Taipan disposal offers best value for money, says Conroy. Australian Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy has confirmed the current disposal strategy for the Australian Defence Force’s MRH 90 Taipan helicopter fleet offers “best value for money for Australian taxpayers”.
Minister Conroy, speaking on ABC Radio today (18 January), said a global search undertaken by MRH-90 Taipan contractor NATO Helicopter Industries to find buyers for the beleaguered fleet uncovered “zero interest”, before hitting back at public scrutiny over the government’s refusal to send the capability to Ukraine.
“After the tragic crash last year, we were faced with a circumstance where the fleet had to be grounded while those crash investigations were undertaken, and they’re still ongoing,” Minister Conroy said.
“The government made the decision to permanently ground the fleet, and in September last year, some months before any request was received, we began the disposal strategy. We then worked with Airbus, the manufacturer of the helicopter, to establish whether there was any existing users that were interested in the air frames, and there were none.
“We then contracted NATO Helicopter Industries to do a global scan of the market to see if anyone was interested in buying the air frames who was a new customer. There was zero interest in buying the air frames.
“Therefore, the best value for taxpayers was to disassemble the aircraft and to begin selling the spare parts. Because the other option would have been to pay hundreds of ms of dollars to Airbus Australia to maintain these aircraft in a flying condition when there was no prospect that they would be flying again for the Australian Army.”
Last year, the Australian government announced that the ADF MRH-90 Taipan helicopter fleet was grounded and would not return to flying operations before their planned withdrawal date in December, following a series of aircraft accidents.
An MRH-90 helicopter crashed south of Hamilton Island while participating in Exercise Talisman Sabre in July 2023, while another aircraft ditched into NSW waters during a routine counterterrorism training exercise in March 2023.
The incidents followed suspended flying operations in June 2021 after issues were found relating to the aircraft’s IT support system, as well as a tail rotor vibration problem identified at HMAS Albatross in 2019.
The Taipan helicopter fleet will be replaced by the accelerated introduction into service of 40 UH 60M Black Hawk helicopters acquired under the LAND 4507 Phase 1 Multi-Role Helicopter Rapid Replacement Project announced in January 2023.
Those aircraft will be joined by new AH-64E Apache helicopters expected to be introduced into service with the Australian Army in 2025.
Defence Connect can confirm Taipan disassembly is being conducted by industry partners using standard mechanisms but cannot substantiate rumours that the aircraft will eventually be buried underground.
There are now no Taipan aircraft in flying condition and spare parts from the helicopters will be sold to existing users of similar variants, Minister Conroy confirmed.
“We’re not the only user of these aircraft that are retiring them. Sweden is retiring theirs. Belgium is retiring theirs. Germany, the biggest user of these helicopters, is constantly complaining about availability,” he said.
Minister Conroy also hit back at public commentary imploring the Australian government to retain the Taipan fleet in working order and supply them to Ukraine.
“That request (from Ukraine) came in just before Christmas, and our response is going through the normal process of being developed by the Department of Defence,” he said.
“That request came in three months after the disposal strategy began, three months after these aircraft were grounded, three months after maintenance ceased on these aircraft.
“The aircraft aren’t in flying condition and we have not established whether they’re safe to fly. But a response will be provided through the normal channels to the Ukrainian government.
“We do not know whether they’re safe to fly … to get them into a condition to provide to the Ukrainian government would require considerable taxpayers’ expense and time and resources. And that was not a good use of taxpayers’ money.
“We’re providing $910 m worth of assistance to Ukraine, including ADF personnel training their civilians rights now, and we’ll continue to consider requests where they’re appropriate. But I really just find it quite incredible that people are suggesting that we should provide aircraft to Ukraine that we still have no idea are safe to fly.
“To get any up to flying condition would require a huge investment in taxpayers’ funds, time, and resources to do that. I should also really make this really important point: we have multiple crash investigations still going on into the tragic accident in Queensland last year. We have no idea whether these aircraft are safe to fly.
“Anyone who suggests that these aircraft have been cleared is lying, and they are making, quite frankly, really offensive suggestions at a time when people are really grieving. So I think it’s really important that those crash investigations keep working to establish the cause of that accident. These aircraft aren’t in a flying condition, and we still do not know whether they’re safe to fly.”
The Department of Defence has reportedly denied a freedom of information request regarding access to flight test reports and airworthiness data of MRH-90 helicopters sought by Australian Greens senator David Shoebridge.
It’s understood Senator Shoebridge was advised that the data referred to confidential aviation safety information and release of that content would not improve Defence aviation safety investigation processes.
(Source: Defence Connect)
18 Jan 24. Australian Ministers Mislead on NH90 Grounding, Retirement: Report. No, Minister – Taipan Helicopters Are Extremely Safe (excerpt). At a press conference yesterday, Acting Defence Minister Pat Conroy hinted that Australia’s fleet of Taipan helicopters were not returned to service after a fatal crash because of safety concerns. In fact, he, and actual Defence Minister Richard Marles, should be fully aware that the accident – which tragically took four lives – had nothing to do with the helicopter itself.
Instead, when asked why the Taipans are being dismantling and buried rather than donated to Ukraine, Minister Conroy continued the government’s smear campaign, saying:
“And I should also make the point that there are multiple crash investigations still going on right now to determine the cause of that tragic accident in Queensland. So, it would be irresponsible for us to move away from the disposal strategy that we’ve locked on in.”
While the full investigation into the July crash during Exercise Talisman Sabre will take many more months to complete, Defence had access to the vital Flight Data Recorder (FDR) and voice recorder within days. These show conclusively that there were no issues whatsoever with the helicopter – all its systems were functioning normally up until the moment of impact.
Confirmation of this took place on October 9, when the CEO of NATO Helicopter Industries – the consortium that manufactures Taipan and in which Airbus are the majority shareholder – Axel Aloccio said about the Australian grounding: “We want to make clear that we believe that this decision is not linked to any particular safety concern regarding the NH90 (Taipan)….We have not identified any technical issue or any malfunction, or alarm or alert…. The aircraft… has worked without any particular issue. That is what we see in the analysis of the FDR data.”
This information was conveyed to Minister Marles soon after the crash, who nevertheless decided not to return the Taipans to service, even though they could have resumed flying. Why he approved of the further bizarre strategy of their destruction rather than storage or gifting them to Ukraine is unknown.
The NH90 / Taipan family of helicopters are remarkably safe with many more safety features than the Black Hawks that will replace them. They have better night vision equipment, fully digital flight controls, a weather radar and flotation devices, among many other features. If Ministers Marles and Conroy could be bothered just to look at Wikipedia, they can see that since 2008 there have been 11 accidents leading to the loss of eight lives – including the four Australians – have been reported across a fleet of 500 helicopters with a quarter of a m flying hours.
In fact, the Taipan smear campaign predates the current government by about a decade and has led to much of the local media adding the word “troubled” to every mention of the aircraft. As APDR has been reporting at length, on most occasions when the Army has grounded the fleet it has been for spurious reasons – or because it has failed to implement the manufacturer’s recommendations for preventative maintenance. A good example was during Talisman Sabre in 2019 when the Taipans were grounded because of a tail rotor vibration issue.
Astute observers saw that New Zealand kept flying their identical NH90s during the exercise because they had correctly carried out the necessary modification, which Australia had ignored. Following the fatal Talisman Sabre crash last year, the RNZAF came under Australian pressure to ground their helicopters to not make our people look bad – but within a couple of days they were flying again. (end of excerpt) (Source: https://www.defense-aerospace.com/ADPR)
17 Jan 24. Ethiopia acquires Akinci UAVs, Su-30 fighters. The Ethiopian Air Force (EAF) has acquired Akinci unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from Turkey and Russian Sukhoi Su-30K combat aircraft as it continues with modernisation efforts.
The Ethiopian National Defence Force said the Su-30K aircraft were introduced into service during a ceremony on Tuesday 16 January.
Chief of General Staff, Field Marshal Birhanu Jula, said that acquiring the Su-30s and UAVs is crucial to preventing attacks on Ethiopia. He added that efforts to build a capable air force will continue.
Commander of the Ethiopian Air Force, Lieutenant General Yilma Merdasa, said the service is being strengthened with modern manpower, weapons and combat infrastructure and the new Su-30s are able to destroy enemy targets both in the air and on land.
Two Su-30Ks (2401 and 2402) were seen during the induction ceremony. It is believed that these are part of a batch of 18 (ten Su-30MK and eight Su-30K fighters) manufactured for the Indian Air Force and delivered between 1997 and 1999. These were subsequently returned to Russia in 2007 and replaced by more modern Su-30MKI models.
In 2011, the 18 Su-30Ks were transported to the 558th aircraft repair plant in Baranovichi, Belarus, where they were stored for the purpose of further resale. In 2013, Angola acquired 12 of these, with delivery from 2017 to 2019. These were upgraded to Su-30SM standard, giving them the ability to fire anti-ship and air-to-air missiles.
It appears Ethiopia has acquired the six remaining Su-30Ks, with deliveries of the last four still to come.
The Baykar Bayraktar Akinci UAVs, meanwhile, were first observed in November last year. Video footage of Bayraktar TB3 UAV flight testing in Turkey showed an Akinci with the tail number S40 wearing an Ethiopian flag. It is unclear how many Akincis Ethiopia has acquired. Based on the video, it appears Ethiopia’s Akincis are in A model configuration with two 450 hp engines.
The Akinci can reach an altitude of 11 000 metres and has a 25 hour endurance. It can be armed with a variety of weapons – the Ethiopian aircraft have been seen with underwing MAM-L missiles manufactured by Roketsan.
Since 2021, Ethiopia has operated Bayraktar TB2S UAVs, with at least four deployed at Bahir Dar and Harar Meda Air Bases. These have been used against the Tigray People’s Liberation Forces, along with Wing Loong and Qods Mohajer-6 UAVs acquired from China and Iran respectively. It is likely the new Akinci UAVs will also be used in combat. (Source: https://www.defenceweb.co.za/)
16 Jan 24. WA government opens Defence Ready grants for local businesses. The Western Australian government has announced the latest series of “Defence Ready” grants to support local businesses in the defence industry.
Successful companies will receive Defence Ready Initiative grants of up to $20,000 from the total $200,000 investment, announced by WA Minister for Defence Industry Paul Papalia on 16 January.
The purpose of the $200,000 investment in Western Australian employers is to assist small and medium enterprises enhance their capability, capacity, and competitiveness to enter or expand their business in the Defence supply chain.
Funding can be used for planning and business advice, to improve internal business infrastructure and systems, train employees, or buy and upgrade essential equipment. Businesses can also use the funding to cover expenses associated with meeting essential pre-qualification requirements for supply chain entry, including those related to meeting Defence security standards.
Minister Papalia said applications are now open for the Defence Ready Initiative grants to support local businesses in their goal of becoming “Defence ready”.
“There’s never been a better time to be involved in Western Australia’s defence industry with the announcement of the AUKUS agreement and Defence Strategic Review,” he said.
“The Defence Ready Initiative will help local businesses take advantage of the exciting opportunities on offer in WA.
“The previous round in 2020 resulted in 22 successful companies receiving funds, including those involved in ship maintenance and security services.”
The initiative supports the WA government’s vision for the defence sector to become a key pillar of the Western Australian economy, and support locally-based businesses to become more competitive in bids to win defence work, he said.
The WA government will assist businesses with grants of up to 50 per cent of their total costs, up to a maximum of $20,000.
Previous recipients include a Perth-based satellite communications antenna firm, which, after receiving a grant, was able to obtain defence security accreditation and enter the supply chain for Australian defence contracts.
The 2020 program resulted in 22 successful companies from a range of industries including ship maintenance and security services.
Applications for Defence Ready Initiative grants close at 3pm on 23 February 2024. Companies can learn more about the Defence Ready Initiative or submit an application at Defence Ready Initiative 2023/24 (www.wa.gov.au).
The grant scheme is designed to increase the number of Western Australian businesses in becoming “defence ready” and subsequently enter or advance their capabilities within the defence supply chain, according to Defence West. (Source: Defence Connect)
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Since 1946, Industrial Electronic Engineers, IEE, has specialized in the design, test, support and fielding of display products for use in demanding military and aerospace applications throughout the world. IEE has developed an extensive product portfolio that today includes enhanced flat panel displays, smart displays and handheld devices.
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