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UNITED KINGDOM AND NATO
11 July 24. Digital Catapult, the UK authority on advanced digital technology, has today welcomed eight technology pioneers to the Made Smarter Innovation Sustainability Accelerator to improve resource and energy efficiency in UK manufacturing. Working with industry leaders BAE Systems, HS2 and Creagh Concrete, the participating companies will receive support from innovation experts at Digital Catapult to co-develop solutions that will establish a more sustainable industrial future.
Delivered by Digital Catapult, the programme is funded by Made Smarter and Innovate UK, to build on the success of the Made Smarter Technology Accelerator, which paired UK manufacturers with technology companies to adapt and improve their approach to industrial innovation. The new programme will foster deeper strategic collaborations between tech innovators and industrial pioneers to advance sustainable manufacturing initiatives, including the application of digital twin technologies.
BAE Systems, which provides some of the world’s most advanced defence, aerospace and security assets, will work with Digica Solutions Ltd to develop a digital twin of its Factory of the Future research centre. Digica’s solution will demonstrate how environmental factors affect manufacturing operations, while Quasir Ltd will combine physics-based models with data-driven machine learning tools to increase operational efficiency, whilst reducing energy consumption and resource waste.
HS2 is constructing Britain’s new high-speed railway, comprising 140-miles of track, four new, state-of-the art stations, two depots, 32 miles of tunnel, and 179 bridges. Construction is based at over 350 active sites between West Midlands and London, most of which will be converted to green sites in the coming years, with Infinitive Group Ltd and Material Index seeking to improve the sustainability of this work by optimising the planned deconstruction process. Both startups will develop digital software tools to integrate and analyse deconstruction-related data effectively to support informed decision making about material recapture and reuse, ensuring that when sites are no longer needed, they are sustainably deconstructed.
One of the UK’s largest producers of concrete products, Northern Ireland-based Creagh Concrete, will collaborate with DataFlowIQ, Linearworks, Kinsetsu and Coraledge Ltd to gain accurate, comprehensive insight into its production process. Optimising and digitalising the manufacturing process, while improving energy and operational efficiency, will enable Creagh Concrete to maintain its competitive edge and achieve its sustainability goals.
The programme will offer participants support in the form of sustainability masterclasses, technical monitoring, innovation expertise and peer-to-peer support, to grow each company’s capabilities. The programme will play a critical role in advancing industrial sustainability through the adoption of deep technology, and comes as it was announced that the country is halfway to net zero, with emissions cut by 53% between 1990 and 2023.
Participating startups and SMEs will each receive £75,000 funding to develop a proof of concept and a further £100,000 will be available for up to four companies to progress to phase two. Phase two will support the successful companies to develop pilot prototypes, culminating in a showcase in early 2025 to pitch their solutions to investors and industry leaders.
Cenk Kafaoglu, Manufacturing Development Engineer, BAE Systems – Air, said: “BAE Systems Air Sector has a clear set of net zero drivers we are embedding in our UK manufacturing operations, with researched and applied data science being key to achieving our goals. We have always looked to our strong relationships with the Catapult Network and UK-based SMEs as a way of accelerating early stage technology development ideas. The innovations from these proposals could make a hugely positive impact on the way we do things”
Zoë Edmonds, Senior Innovation Manager, HS2 Ltd, said: “We are excited to collaborate with these two companies on our data integration challenges, and benefit from their innovative approaches. Both companies are new to HS2, so Digital Catapult has helped us reach new potential suppliers to explore their fresh ideas. The sheer scale and complexity of analysing reusable materials in up to 350 temporary worksites requires a truly innovative approach, and if successful it could represent a significant step change to engage the construction industry in the circular economy.”
Justin Cross, Director of Innovation Practice, Digital Catapult, said: “With UK manufacturing touted as one of the silver bullets to sustainable economic growth, there is growing demand for manufacturers to demonstrate their commitment to sustainability, and prove that this commitment yields significant commercial benefit. The UK was the 8th largest global manufacturer last year, so we are in a prime position to show the rest of the world that sustainable innovation and smart manufacturing are key to achieving long-term economic prosperity. I’m confident that these innovative solutions will improve energy efficiency and optimise resource use, and I’d like to congratulate the startups for joining this pioneering new programme.”
12 Jul 24. Royal Marines refurbish all-terrain vehicles ahead of new FATVs. The successful supplier will provide Babcock with resources to remanufacture Beach Recovery Vehicles, BV206 personnel carriers and Viking ATVs.
The UK Ministry of Defence requires a supplier of components to support its prime contractor, Babcock Land Defence, with repairing various littoral vehicles for the Royal Marines.
Under the framework agreement lasting three years, with an option for two more, the service contract value is anticipated to cost £4.5m ($5.82m). Work is due to begin on 6 January 2025 and end on 5 January 2027.
The successful supplier will provide Babcock with resources to remanufacture the amphibious service’s Beach Recovery Vehicles (BRV), Bandvagn 206 (BV206) carriers and Viking units. This range of fast, armoured and amphibious all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) enable the Royal Marines to operate in some of the harshest environments on the planet, from desert regions to the Arctic.
Known as the “Hippo,” the BRV is based on the German Leopard 1A5 tank, but with modifications. The turret is replaced by a superstructure and a nose block has been added to push landing craft off beaches.
The BV206 is regularly used in High North conditions, where the tracked vehicle can carry up to 17 people at once, provides good traction on any surface and has an adaptable trailer unit.
Likewise, the Viking is capable of operating anywhere in the world in temperatures between -46 degrees celsius and +49 degrees. Fitted with a more powerful engine, the Viking is larger and faster than the BV206S and has greater load capacity.
Timeline for Royal Marine ATVs
The decision to repair and remanufacture the littoral ATVs will expand the ageing fleet, while the MoD also continues to procure 60 new Future ATVs (FATVs) from 2025.
FATVs are an evolution of the current Vikings with better amphibious swimming capability and lift capacity with models for troop transport, logistics (which can carry six tonnes of equipment), medical evacuation, recovery, and command and control. These uprated Vikings will be in service until 2058.
This acquisition was made in December 2022, and it was originally intended to replace the Royal Marines’ ageing vehicles which have been in active service for up to 20 years in most cases.
However, the refurbishment timeline of the existing fleet – extending their service time beyond 2027 – indicates that the repaired vehicles are not an interim solution, but a longer-term expansion.
This framework agreement may account for the recent depletion of the marines’ inventory. This contract was publicised on 2 July, after the former Defence Secretary, Grant Shapps, donated 20 Viking vehicles from the Army inventory, as well as 65% of its Offshore Raiding Craft fleet, to Ukraine in December 2023. (Source: army-technology.com)
12 Jul 24. NATO DIANA launches 2024 challenges for world-class innovators. NATO’s Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA) has launched five new challenges for 2024
Building on the success of its inaugural year, NATO’s Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA) has launched its 2024 challenges to continue to attract the best and brightest innovators across the Alliance in support of its mission to build a peaceful and more resilient future.
- Applications for the 2024 challenges are open until 9 August
- Five challenge areas: Energy & Power, Data & Information Security, Sensing & Surveillance, Human Heath & Performance and Critical Infrastructure & Logistics
- Early-stage start-ups or small and medium-sized enterprises with limited experience in defence and security will benefit the most
To sharpen NATO’s technological edge, DIANA is an organisation with a mission to locate and accelerate dual-use innovation across the Alliance and provides innovators with the resources, networks and guidance to develop deep technologies to solve critical defence and security challenges.
For its second year, DIANA will be asking innovators to submit proposals in five challenge areas.
- Energy & Power: Focusing on enhancing energy and power resilience in the context of generation, storage, distribution, recovery, harvesting and propulsion across various domains.
- Data & Information Security: Technology solutions that facilitate data production, utilisation, distribution, and protection in multi-domain environments, including space, characterised by a variety of disparate devices, communication systems, operational settings, and operational concepts.
- Sensing & Surveillance: Building on the success of the sensing and surveillance challenge in 2023, this challenge will expand to all domains (land, sea, air, space and cyber).
- Human Health & Performance: Inviting solutions which will improve the understanding and enhancement of human health and wellbeing, both physical and psychological, in various operational contexts including space.
- Critical Infrastructure & Logistics: Focusing on the secure and trustworthy operation of critical national and international infrastructure, and global supply chains across various domains.
Across these challenges, innovators are encouraged to consider the interconnection of applications and technologies across three different cross-cutting domains.
- Space: The environment of space represents a vast and largely unexplored frontier with immense potential for scientific discovery and technological innovation.
- Resilience: This theme emphasises the need for solutions and technologies that can withstand and quickly recover from disruptions or threats.
- Sustainability: DIANA seeks to emphasise the importance of developing and implementing environmentally friendly, energy-efficient technologies and practices that ensure long-term viability.
Innovators will receive funding to enable participation in the DIANA accelerator programme, which starts in January 2025, and they will embark upon a six-month intensive programme custom-designed for early-stage dual-use start-ups. They will have access to mentorship and testing facilities, as well as access to trusted investor and end-user networks to help them move from ideation to real-world adoption in defence and civilian markets.
John Ridge, Director, Defence Innovation said: “The UK strongly supports DIANA and its new challenge areas. These build on the successful first year of DIANA’s operation, and we look forward to seeing the results of these programmes in the hands of war fighters. Through these programmes and the partnership between the NATO Innovation Fund and DIANA we expect to see innovators scale to meet the challenges faced by all Allies. In its pilot challenge call in 2023, DIANA received over 1,300 applications from innovators across the Alliance. 44 successful innovators from 19 countries were selected to form DIANA’s inaugural cohort, joining a six-month accelerator boot-camp programme in January 2024 at five accelerator sites in Europe and North America.”
Find out more about the challenges and apply on the DIANA challenge portal: https://www.diana.nato.int/challenges.html (Source: https://www.gov.uk/)
EUROPE
03 Jul 24. Italy plans 20bn euro tank order from Germany’s Rheinmetall, reports Handelsblatt. Italy is planning to buy hundreds of tanks from Rheinmetall in what would be the German defence group’s biggest ever order, valued at around 20bn euros ($21.50 bn), the Handelsblatt business daily reported on Wednesday, citing industry sources.
According to the plan, the Italian government would buy at least 350 Lynx armoured fighting vehicles and more than 200 Panther main battle tanks in an order spread over a 15-year period, Handelsblatt reported.
Rheinmetall did not deny the report when asked for comment and said it would comment in due course.
In June, a source close to the matter said Italian defence and aerospace group Leonardo was in talks with Rheinmetall on a strategic alliance for tanks.
A Leonardo spokesman declined to comment on the Handelsblatt report, saying the matter was in the hands of the Italian government.
There was no immediate response to a request for a comment from the Italian government.
Rheinmetall is targeting record sales of 10 bn euros this year as its order books grow due to boosted defence spending in Europe in response to the war in Ukraine. ($1 = 0.9312 euros) (Source: Google/Reuters)
05 Jul 24. MBDA, Kongsberg snub Swiss tender for medium-range air defense system. Pan-European missile maker MBDA and Norway’s Kongsberg snubbed a Swiss tender for a new medium-range air-defense system, leaving the door open for Germany’s Diehl Defence as the sole potential bidder for the contract. Kongsberg and MBDA informed Swiss defense-procurement agency armasuisse they won’t submit offers due to time constraints, armasuisse spokeswoman Samanta Leiser told Defense News in an emailed response to questions. The evaluation process will continue as planned, with Diehl remaining as a potential manufacturer, the government office said in a statement on Friday.
Switzerland in April decided to join the Germany-led European Sky Shield Initiative, for which Diehl is a partner for the medium-range component with the Iris-T SLM system. Armasuisse said participation in ESSI doesn’t preempt any decision on what air defense the country is buying, though other partners in the initiative have picked Diehl’s system.
“Armasuisse is awaiting the receipt of the offer from the remaining manufacturing company by mid-July,” the office said. “Apart from the costs, a decision in favor of the remaining candidate in the third quarter of 2024 is dependent on this candidate submitting an offer which meets the requirements of armasuisse.”
Leiser declined to comment on the budget, how many systems Switzerland is seeking or what the delivery timeline will be. The Swiss parliament is currently discussing buying the system within the 2024 defense plan, rather than in 2025 as previously envisioned.
The alpine country in 2016 suspended a previous project to modernize its air-defense system, terminating a contract with Thales for purchasing preparations. Switzerland in 2022 agreed to buy the Patriot system for longer-range, ground-based air defense.
Kongsberg had been asked to provide a quote for the NASAMS system, according to company spokesman Ivar Simensen, who said the company has no further comment. MBDA didn’t respond to requests for comment, while Diehl also didn’t immediately return a request for comment.
Slovenia in January agreed to buy one Iris-T SLM fire unit, consisting of a radar component, a tactical operations center and four missile launchers, through the German federal office for defense procurement. Estonia and Latvia signed framework agreements with Diehl in September to buy the system within the framework of ESSI.
One of Switzerland’s criteria is that the system must already be successfully in use. The country also says inclusion of Swiss industry in the contract is “of particular importance,” with a demand that the entire purchase price is compensated with offsetting transactions in Switzerland. “There is no flexibility” with respect to the offset requirement, according to Leiser.
Iris-T SLM is designed to defend against aircraft, cruise missiles and drones to a range of up to 40 kilometers. Diehl says the performance of Iris-T SLM in Ukraine has been “excellent,” achieving “close to 100% hit rate” even during attack waves with more than 12 targets.
Separately, Kongsberg said it signed a contract with the Norwegian Defence Material Agency to the initial development phase of the German-Norwegian supersonic strike missile, or 3SM, set to be deployed on naval vessels from 2035. The contract value for the first development phase is up to 1.5bn kroner (U.S. $131m), the company said in a statement on Friday.
Kongsberg, Diehl Defence and MBDA Deutschland agreed in May to set up a partnership for joint development of the new missile. (Source: Defense News)
USA
08 Jul 24. USAF seeks market information on electro-optical/infrared C-UAS technologies. The United States Air Force (USAF) Counter small-Unmanned Aircraft Systems (C-sUAS) branch is requesting information regarding Electro-Optical/Infrared (EO/IR) camera technologies related to combatting the sUAS threat groups 1 and 2.
According to the request for information: “This request is issued for the purpose of exchanging information and market research that will allow industry to best communicate to the Government their capabilities through this exchange of information. Responses to this request are voluntary and will not affect any contractor’s ability to submit a proposal if, or when, an RFP is released. The requested information is for planning purposes only and does NOT constitute a commitment, implied or otherwise, that a procurement action will be issued.”
Responses to this request are due no later than Wednesday, 31 July 2024, at 3:00 P.M. Eastern Standard Time (EST)
For more information: https://sam.gov/opp/c91f63bcef8c4bd9812e16b9be2ce899/view (Source: www.unmannedairspace.info)
REST OF THE WORLD
11 Jul 24. Canada plans to procure 12 submarines to replace Victoria class. The Canadian Government has resolved to implement greater protective measures in its waters through their new defence vision. Canada will soon begin to engage with industry regarding their plans to acquire 12 conventionally powered submarines, according to a statement from Bill Blair, the Minister of National Defence, on 10 July 2024.
The government prefaced the update by outlining the reality that Canada has the largest coastline in the world – approximately 151,000 miles – before asserting that “an underwater surveillance capability is crucial to our security and sovereignty.”
With new shipping lanes forming from melting ice caps, it is likely that the Arctic Ocean may become the most efficient route between Europe and the Far East by 2050. The Canadian Government has resolved to implement greater protective measures through their new defence vision – entitled ‘Our North, Strong and Free’, released in April – to meet a world where sovereignty is increasingly affronted. Such measures lie in maritime surveillance, above and below the surface.
“This new fleet will enable Canada to protect its sovereignty in a changing world, and make valuable, high-end contributions to the security of our partners and Nato allies,” Blair maintained.
Currently, the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) operate four long-range, diesel-electric powered Victoria-class patrol submarines.
Formerly known as the Upholder-class, the Canadians purchased the ‘Type 2400’ fleet from the UK Royal Navy, which were originally launched in the late 1980s and early 1990s. These four platforms replaced the northern nation’s Oberon-class, the last of which were decomissioned five months before HMCS Victoria was commissioned in December 2000.
The hull is a classical teardrop shape design, 70.3 metres (m) in length by 7.6m in width and with a depth of hull of 5.5m. The fin or main sail houses a five-man lockout chamber. The submarine accommodates a crew of 48 including seven officers. There is room for an additional five mission crew, observers or training crew.
Canada’s CPSP fleet
Through the Canadian Patrol Submarine Project (CPSP), Canada will acquire a larger, modernised, under-ice capable submarine fleet.
Their key submarine capability requirements will be “stealth, lethality, persistence and Arctic deployability – meaning that the submarine must have extended range and endurance.”
These boats will enable the RCN to covertly detect and deter maritime threats, control its maritime approaches, project power and striking capability further from our shores, and project a persistent deterrent on all three coasts.
The Department of National Defence is currently in the process of meeting with manufacturers and potential partners, as part of the CPSP. A formal Request for Information (RFI) will be posted in the autumn of 2024 to gain further information on the procurement, construction, delivery and operational capabilities of potential bidders who can build submarines for Canada.
This RFI will also seek to gain information which will enable the establishment of a submarine sustainment capability in Canada.
This procurement will enable Canada to develop closer ties with its allies and partners and establish a strategic partnership that not only delivers the submarines themselves, but creates a durable relationship between Canada and its strategic partners to support personnel training and the sharing of information.
RCN’s Arctic force structure
Canada’s defence vision is already well underway. In mid-May, the Navy commissioned its fourth Harry DeWolf-class Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ship, HMCS William Hall.
These ships are designed to operate through ice up to one metre thick, with a hull strengthened for operations in the High North, protecting Canada’s territorial interests in the region and enforcing sovereignty in its waters.
Two more ships in the class are being procured, with the last expected to be delivered in 2025. In a recent Defence Policy Update, a number of upgrades to the Harry DeWolf-class ships were announced, including specialised marine sensors, and it was decided to explore options for Arctic and Offshore Patrol Vessels to operate maritime helicopters at sea.
At the start of July, the government revealed that Irving Shipbuilding has begun the construction of the production test module (PTM) for the Canadian Surface Combatant – now designated River-class destroyers.
The PTM will allow industry to test and streamline processes, and implement lessons learned into the build process ahead of full rate production in 2025.
PTM construction can raise costs, although the financial benefits of conducting such granular and iterative testing often render this the more financially sound option over the long term. “Especially when the government client is on the hook to pay for the whole research and development process,” considered GlobalData Defence Analyst Tristan Sauer.
As the Navy looks to engage with industry, the service may consider the same PTM process to iron out any potential kinks as the endeavour comes as part of one of the country’s largest shipbuilding programmes since the Second World War. (Source: naval-technology.com)
09 Jul 24. Canada’s CF-18 Hornet fighter upgrade programme reaches IOC.
The Hornet Extension Project is intended to ensure that the RCAF’s Hornet fighter fleet is able to meet operational requirements until 2032.
The first six CF-18 Hornet fighters upgraded via the Hornet Extension Project (HEP) have been delivered to the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), marking the programme’s initial operational capability (IOC) milestone.
In a social media post on 8 July 2024, the RCAF stated that the arrival of six operational CF-18s was conducted as part of Phase 2 of the HEP programme, which it said remained on schedule to achieve full operational capability by March 2026.
Canada’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) states that the HEP is intended to ensure that the RCAF’s Hornet fighter fleet is able to meet operational requirements, including integration into the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) and Nato until 2032, when the permanent fleet of F-35 fifth generation stealth fighters is expected to be fully operational.
The first HEP CF-18 fighter upgraded for the RCAF was delivered in August 2023.
The attainment of the HEP IOC was originally set to be reached by December 2023, with the recent announcement indicating a seven-month delay. Canada’s MND originally stated that FOC will be reached by June 2025, with the RCAF social media post now pointing towards an expected nine-month delay in the programme.
HEP: addressing obsolescence and combat upgrades
The HEP programme is planned to upgrade CF-18 Hornet fighters in service with the RCAF, for an estimated cost of C$1.3bn ($950m) in two parallel phases.
Phase 1 of the HEP is intended to deliver enhancements for up to 88 CF-18 aircraft, focused on addressing civilian air traffic management regulations and meeting allied military interoperability requirements.
Meanwhile, Phase 2 centres on additional combat capability upgrades for 36 CF-18 aircraft.
A 2020 announcement by the US Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) stated the US State Department had approved the possible Foreign Military Sale of equipment related to Canada’s HEP programme, for an estimated cost of $862.3m.
Included in the equipment was a request from Canada for 50 Sidewinder AIM-9X Block II Tactical missiles; 50 Sidewinder AIM-9X Block II Captive Air Training Missiles; 38 APG-79(V)4 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar units; 38 APG-79(V)4 AESA radar A1 kits; 20 Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) C, AGM-154C; and 46 F/A-18A wide band RADOMEs.
In providing reasoning, the DSCA stated that the proposed sale would provide Canada “a two-squadron bridge of enhanced F/A-18A aircraft to continue meeting NORAD and Nato commitments while it gradually introduces new advanced aircraft via the Future Fighter Capability Program between 2025 and 2035”.
Canada opts for F-35 to replace CF-18 fighters
The HEP programme is tied closely to the eventual arrival of Canada’s next generation fighter, which finally selected the Lockheed Martin F-35A stealth fighter in January 2023.
Delivery of the first F-35A is predicted to take place in 2026, followed by the arrival of the next six aircraft in 2027 and a further six in 2028, with a final fleet total of 88 F-35 aircraft.
Once delivered, the new fleet is expected to achieve full operational capability between 2032 and 2034, and gradually replace the RCAF’s CF-18 Hornet fleet by the end of 2032.
According to the Canadian Government, the F-35 procurement project, which is estimated to be C$19bn, is the country’s largest investment in the RCAF in the last three decades. (Source: airforce-technology.com)
09 Jul 24. AISI calls for supplier development technology contributors. Now into its 18th year, the AISI (Aerospace Industry Support Initiative) government drive to improve the competitiveness of South Africa’s aeronautics, space, defence and marine advanced manufacturing sectors, is inviting expressions of interest (EoIs) for its technology-based supplier development programme. The EoI (001/29/04/2024) aims to identify companies requiring technology support in sectors related to advanced manufacturing in the aeronautics, space and defence sectors. All technology enhancement projects from the EoI must fall into specific thematic areas approved for support.
“Selected thematic areas are at the discretion of the AISI and are considered to be the most relevant for technological advancement in the South African aeronautics, defence and space sectors,” the invitation reads in part, going on to name six specific areas. They are: aerostructures including advanced manufacturing and processing (including digital manufacturing, unmanned aerial vehicles [UAVs], surface treatment technologies, additive manufacturing); space; avionics; propulsion; surveillance and sensor systems; and land systems.
The closing date for submissions is over nine months away on 28 March next year but interested parties need have no concern about submissions gathering dust, as it were. Application received will be evaluated on the 15th of each month as received until the EoI closes.
The current EoI follows a July 2023 call for proposals (CfPs) to the aerospace and defence sectors for what the AISI said was an aerospace and defence industry development and technology support programme. It aimed to identify organisations needing “technology support in sectors relating to advanced manufacturing in aeronautics, space and defence”.
This, as with other programmes at the CSIR (Council for Scientific and Industrial Research) based AISI, aims to advance “South African niche capabilities and value propositions in support of National Government objectives such as competitiveness improvement and localisation”.
Probably the best-known beneficiary – funding-wise – from AISI is Potchefstroom-based Jonker Sailplanes. The glider designer and manufacturer put the funding into an upskilling programme for young men and women working on the company’s vibration-less engine and sailplane development. Other South African aerospace companies to benefit from the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic) initiative are Cape Aerospace Technologies (small gas turbine engines) and Centurion-based Petrawell (filament winding), amongst others. (Source: https://www.defenceweb.co.za/)
05 Jul 24. Australia launches $4m ‘pitch day’ for defence technology. The Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator is launching a new semiannual $4m pitch day to drive local defence innovation, with the inaugural pitch centred on the theme of delivering an “innovative asymmetric advantage”.
The theme refers to disruptive capabilities that will have a deterrence effect, the Commonwealth confirmed.
Under the announcement, defence businesses will have the opportunity to respond to an expression of interest from where selected companies will be given the chance to pitch their technology or concepts at the Australian Defence Science, Technology and Research (ADSTAR) Summit to a Defence panel.
ADSTAR is held between 17 and 19 September.
Those successful at the ADSTAR pitch will then be invited to respond to contracts in a competitive process valued up to $750,000.
Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy noted the pitch day will deliver essential capabilities for Australian warfighters and boost the sovereign industrial base.
“With this week marking ASCA’s first anniversary, it’s only fitting we announce the inaugural pitch day, underscoring our commitment to supporting industry and ensuring our ADF personnel are equipped with the capabilities they need,” Minister Conroy said.
“One year after the establishment of ASCA, we’re already seeing initiatives and local innovators getting the support they need to help grow our sovereign industrial base and contribute to a future made in Australia.”
Expressions of interest will be open until 22 July 2024.
The pitch day forms part of ASCA’s mission of transitioning concepts into capabilities and improving the government’s acquisition process, a statement from the minister’s office outlined.
In April, ASCA announced Anduril Australia’s autonomous undersea capability Ghost Shark will become the Accelerator’s Mission 0, providing the Royal Australian Navy with a long-range autonomous undersea warfare capability.
The program is expected to provide the Royal Australian Navy with long-range autonomous undersea capabilities, operating across intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and strike mission profiles.
The program will fall under the federal government’s $7.2 bn commitment for development and acquisition of subsea capabilities, the Commonwealth confirmed.
According to a release from Minister Conroy, 10 local companies have partnered with Anduril Australia for the delivery of the capability with 42 benefiting across the supply chain.
Minister Conroy explained that the Ghost Shark program demonstrates the benefits of Defence and industry collaboration.
“Ghost Shark is an exemplar of how Defence and Australian industry can move at speed to develop new sovereign capabilities to respond to the challenges before us,” Minister Conroy outlined.
“By transitioning Ghost Shark to ASCA, a clear statement is being made about Defence’s commitment to the program.
“ASCA is focused on speeding up the transition of innovation into capability that will give our Australian Defence Force an edge, while creating more jobs for Australians commercialising the technology.”
(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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In-house California facilities include optical bonding, clean rooms for display assembly, a dark room for optical measurements and environmental chambers for pre-compliance and customer acceptance testing. On-site manufacturing includes PCB assembly and flow soldering. IEE has manufactured handheld, in-vehicle, airborne and naval LCD displays for all military branches as well as leading aerospace firms both domestically and internationally.
IEE is ISO 9001:2015 and AS9100D certified.
IEE’s Advantage:
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