The second tranche of Defence Innovation Hub investments worth $12.3 million has been announced by Minister for Defence Industry, the Hon Christopher Pyne MP, ensuring Defence has access to ground-breaking technology.
“This investment will see a number of organisations across Australia benefit from this initiative to develop game changing defence equipment.
“It will help support a number of local jobs across Australia and keep local defence industry involved in the latest innovation for Australia’s defence,” Minister Pyne said.
The eight innovation contracts announced today includes $3.17 million to Ron Allum Deepsea Services in NSW which will provide a novel, high-performance autonomous glider for long-endurance vehicle, theatre scale undersea surveillance.
Also announced today is an innovation contract worth $3.2 million to Quintessence Labs in the ACT which will seek to negate threats to Defence’s current secure communications from the imminent arrival of quantum computing capabilities.
Grollo Aerospace in Victoria will also today receive funding of $1.9 million to develop an affordable and re-usable supersonic sea skimming target missile, aimed at providing the Royal Australian Air Force with high speed unmanned targets for air combat training.
A full list of the contracts awarded today are provided below.
Minister Pyne said the Defence Innovation Hub continues to receive an enthusiastic reception from businesses and research organisations from across Australia.
“The Defence Innovation Hub was established in December last year as a robust program to facilitate and nurture the development of innovative technology and ideas in support of Defence capability,” he said.
“The Government has invested $1.6 billion to develop Defence capability through growth in the capacity and capability of Australia’s defence industry and innovation sector.
Minister Pyne said the announcement today reiterates the Turnbull Government’s commitment to using its Defence dollar to ensuring the creation of jobs and economic growth here in Australia while supporting and improving Defence capability through innovation.
Industry and research organisations are encouraged to continue to submit proposals through the Defence Innovation Portal at www.business.gov.au/cdic.
Contracts awarded today under the Defence Innovation Hub
| Organisation | Contract Value | Description of Innovation |
| Ron Allum Deepsea Services (Sydney, NSW)
|
$3,170,000 | An innovation contract between Defence and Ron Allum Deepsea Services and Defence will explore the feasibility of a novel, high-performance autonomous glider for long-endurance undersea surveillance. |
| Quintessence Labs
(ACT)
|
$3,261,000 | An innovation contract between Defence and Quintessence Labs will explore the feasibility of the establishment of highly secure communications links between two points, both fixed and over line of sight free space. |
| Deakin University (VIC)
|
$2,157,000 | An innovation contract between Defence and Deakin University will explore the feasibility of developing a functioning hot fire training system using haptic (touch) force feedback, high fidelity visuals, and realistic heat experience to improve fire fighting training for Navy. The combination of technologies is unlikely to have occurred elsewhere in the world. |
| Grollo Aerospace (VIC)
|
$1,925,000 | An innovation contract between Defence and Grollo Aerospace will explore the feasibility of an affordable re-usable supersonic sea skimming target missile, designed in Australia, with the potential of offering a world leading capability optimised for the Australian Defence Force. |
| Data to Decisions Co-Operative Research Centre (SA)
|
$1,054,000 | An innovation contract between Defence and the Data to Decisions Co-Operative Research Centre will explore the feasibility of the development of a cyber-threat intelligence capability that could assist enterprise and mission systems in identifying and treating potential adversary exploitations. This novel innovation will leverage international efforts in this research field. |
| Saber Aeronautics Australia (Sydney, NSW)
|
$275,000 | An innovation contract between Defence and Saber Aeronautics Australia will explore the development of an innovation that will use machine learning technology for autonomous identification and modelling of electronic threats. |
| SYPAQ Systems (Melbourne, VIC)
|
$274,000 | An innovation contract between Defence and SYPAQ Systems will explore the development of software based systems that effectively train networks to learn how to interpret non-standard intelligence products and convert them to comply with appropriate format standards. |
| Trang Imagineering (Regional NSW)
|
$218,000 | An innovation contract between Defence and Trang Imagineering will explore the development of 3D sensors that have been used in the mining industry for potential use by the Australian Defence Force for threat monitoring in conflict zones. This innovation has significant potential for use by the Australian Defence Force, such as identifying areas of ground disturbance where IEDs, or other threats, might be hidden, and identifying recent enemy movements based on 3D scanning of changes to terrain. |
