In a significant milestone, the Minister for Defence Industry, the Hon Christopher Pyne MP has announced the first Defence Innovation Hub investments since the launch of the program in December 2016.
Minister Pyne said these investments show the Turnbull Government’s commitment to spending our Defence dollar locally to grow the Australian defence industry while developing new capabilities.
“The Defence Innovation Hub is crucial in delivering the Government’s $1.6 billion commitment to develop local Defence capability,” Minister Pyne said.
“The first three investments totalling $887,000 will help Australian industry to mature and further develop defence technologies which will create jobs and drive economic growth.
“A $618,000 contract signed with Newcastle-based firm Armor Composite Engineering will provide a low profile body armour system, which could be used by personnel in close protection roles.
“This innovation will seek to mature technology which will improve protection for Australian Defence Force members and ensure we keep up with new and emerging threats.
“Melbourne-based SYPAQ Systems has signed a $172,000 contract with Defence to provide a small, lightweight next generation power generator tailored to land environments which can be used by individual soldiers and vehicle-based forces,” he said.
A deployable power generator capability could be a game changer for soldiers in hotspots around the world.
“A $97,000 contract between Defence and Sydney-based Berkeley Information Technology will provide a software solution to support the protection of documents used on Defence information and communication systems,” Minister Pyne said.
In an increasing cyber threat environment, this technology has the potential to negate unintentional data breaches as well as malicious insider attacks.
Industry and research organisations can continue to submit proposals through the Defence Innovation Portal at www.business.gov.au/cdic.
