The Australian Industry & Defence Network – South Australia (AIDN SA) Young Achiever Award 2022 was announced at the annual AIDN SA Christmas and Garden Party last week. Southern Launch Regulatory Lead Eamon Lawson received this year’s honour, selected from a competitive field of nominees. Eamon was recognised for his important contribution to critical law reform to support the development of Australia’s first sovereign end-to-end space capability covering payload development, rocket manufacture and launch into space. Space launch is an important pillar in Australia’s sovereign defence capabilities. Playing a lead role in navigating legislative and regulatory frameworks across projects for Defence directly ...

BAE Systems Australia has been named as a key employment partner for South Australia’s first technical college at Findon. Aligning with the State Government’s Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering industry focus, the partnership between BAE Systems and the Findon Technical College will ensure a pipeline of skilled workers for the defence and naval shipbuilding industries. The College will offer years 10-12 students the chance to learn in world-class facilities and will provide career pathways to welders, fabricators, computer assisted designers, programmers, robotic technicians and more. Head of Resourcing and Early Careers at BAE Systems, Georgette Elston, said the College is important ...

A new contract has been signed between Osborne based companies ASC and QMS NDT & NACE(QMS) that will see more than 25 local jobs supported through the delivery of Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) and metal survey services. The new deal will see QMS deliver x-ray and radiographic testing for Collins class submarines as part of the full-cycle docking program. This technology enables precise analysis of the integrity of the structures’ welds, pipe wall thicknesses, and other metallic components without physical disruption and will be used by ASC teams to effectively target maintenance activities. ASC Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Stuart ...

Lumination, an Adelaide-based company specialising in bringing classroom lessons to life using immersive technologies, is working with the Defence Innovation Hub to explore how it might transform training environments for the Australian Defence Force.  Lumination integrates immersive technologies such as virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence (Ai) into the school curriculum. It wasn’t until an interaction with defence company BAE Systems that the Lumination team considered their specialist knowledge could play a role in training ADF personnel. BAE Systems suggested Lumination approach the Defence Innovation Hub, which invests in technologies with the potential to enhance Defence capability. Lumination’s chief commercial ...

South Australian company REDARC Defence & Space has been awarded a $23 million contract for the supply of lighting and related parts for the Royal Australian Navy’s anti-submarine warfare frigates. The Lonsdale-based company will be responsible for the manufacture and delivery of 12,600 LED lights for the first three Hunter class warships being built at the world-class Osborne Naval Shipyard. The contract is the result of a five-year collaboration between REDARC and UK LED lighting business MARL International. The companies will partner to produce 79 different types of lights for each frigate, including bunk and flood lights, weatherdeck and step ...

University students currently enrolled and undertaking third-year or honours year studies in STEM are now able to apply for an exciting scholarship placement with a local defence company. The South Australian Government’s Defence Industry Scholarship Program provides students with grants of up to $10,000 which can be used to support expenses associated with the placement. The program is designed to support the defence industry to build in-demand skills, knowledge and experience, through work-based learning opportunities for university students and addressing key skills demand areas. Defence SA Chief Executive Richard Price said the program, now in its fourth year, had already ...

Global IT and business consulting services firm CGI has established its new Space, Defence and Intelligence Hub at Lot Fourteen’s Defence and Space Landing Pad. CGI provides end-to-end IT-related services and advises, builds, implements and operates bespoke technically complex, mission-critical information systems. With 88,500 consultants and professionals worldwide, CGI selected South Australia for its Space, Defence and Intelligence Australian base in 2021, to tap into the artificial intelligence, machine learning and big data capabilities the state has to offer. “The opportunity for close collaboration with our partners in South Australia’s innovative space and defence industry such as Sypaq and Saber ...

BAE Systems Australia has secured a $45 million, three-year extension to its Royal Australian Navy contract to provide in-service periscope support for the Collins Class submarines. The contract extension will see BAE Systems continue to deliver maintenance and logistics services, engineering and supply support and program management of 16 periscope systems at BAE Systems’ purpose-built Mawson Lakes facility in South Australia and HMAS Stirling in Western Australia. Each Collins Class submarine has an Attack and Search periscope that are extensively overhauled every seven years to ensure their materiel readiness and structural integrity. BAE Systems Australia Managing Director Defence Delivery, Andrew ...

Adelaide’s Supashock Defence Technologies and Rheinmetall have signed a major contract to supply Missile Launch Pods (MLP) to the Hungarian Armed Forces. The agreement will see 84 missile launchers exported under a two-year contract, creating approximately 25 jobs within Supashock and a further 85 roles within the local supply chain. Developed in conjunction with Rheinmetall Electronics and Rheinmetall Land Systems Germany, the MLP’s design was achieved with Supashock’s expertise in kinematics, mechatronics, electronics, composite design, analysis and rapid prototyping. The use of the composite materials – compared to traditional metal alternatives – offers a light-weight structure that maintains strength and ...

South Australia continues to prove itself as a leading force in defence manufacturing, with the state’s defence industry experiencing a surge in growth.  New data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows South Australia contributed almost $1.2 billion to the economy in 2020-21, growing by 11 per cent from the previous year –  the highest rate of growth of mainland states and largest contribution per capita of all states. According to the Australian Defence Industry Account, which measures the portion of the economy that directly supplies good and services to the Department of Defence, Australia’s defence industry contributed almost ...

In a major boost to Australia’s strategic military communications network, Babcock Australasia (Babcock) have been awarded the contract to deliver the Australian Defence Force’s Enhanced Defence High-Frequency Communications System (EDHFCS) to support regional and global operations. The new contract will see Babcock lead the operation and support of the existing HF capability, while delivering a comprehensive technology upgrade over the 10-year program. The EDHFCS program will commence in October 2023 and provide Australian and allied armed forces with the ability to securely communicate using voice and data from almost any location across the globe. As part of the Australian Government’s ...

 The Federal Government has allocated $10.1 million in funding to support the expansion of the Factory of the Future. A joint collaboration of Flinders University and BAE Systems Australia, the Factory of the Future is a purpose-built facility for industrial scale testing of new technologies and processes ahead of their use in advanced manufacturing. The facility is a first of its kind in the country and is located at the Tonsley Innovation District, which recently became a member of the Global Institute on Innovation Districts – an independent not-for-profit research organisation made up of 22 handpicked innovation districts across the ...