How we’re preparing for an era of drone deterrence

A Medium Range Reconnaissance Drone is operated at the Hohenfels Training Area in southern Germany.

While all eyes are on the accelerating evolution of drone warfare in Ukraine, their use is proliferating in conflicts around the world.

This is acutely relevant to every defence force, in every country. Australia is no exception.

Drones can be low cost, long range, rapidly replicable and precise – four elements rarely seen together in military technology.

The use of drones in all conflict zones clearly shows the nature of modern warfare has changed. We can learn lessons from Ukraine, and we are watching very closely how the combatants are using both drones and counter drones.

But the threats we face in our Indo-Pacific region are not the same as those in the trenches of Ukraine.

We need to concentrate our efforts on what we need in the circumstances of our region to defend Australia and deny any attempts at military coercion today, tomorrow and into the future.

There are three key points I would like to make when it comes to our drone and counter-drone capability.

First, the Australian Defence Force has a large array of uncrewed aerial systems already in service, including armed drones.

We have accelerated the acquisition of an appropriate mix of drone capabilities to suit Australia’s environment of military interest and are continuing to examine new autonomous capabilities.

Pat Conroy

Last year, the government announced the largest ever contract for Australian-made drones and Defence is trialling low-cost, expendable systems that can be produced at scale in Australia.

This follows a $58m investment in research, development and prototyping across the past three years.

And over the next 10 years we will invest more than $10bn on the development and introduction of a range of cutting-edge airborne, surface and submarine drone systems.

This funding will strengthen the sovereign defence industry and drive innovation through partnerships with the likes of Droneshield, Sypaq Systems, AMSL Aero, Grabba Technologies and Boresight.

Today, we are announcing an initial wave of contracts worth $16.9m to multiple vendors as part of the project known as LAND 156.

The project will rapidly deliver counter-drone capabilities and technologies to protect ADF personnel, including soldiers on the battlefield, as well as our critical infrastructure such as bases. It will see the world’s most capable threat detectors and drone-defeating technologies rapidly introduced into service by the ADF.

These new capabilities will complement drones already acquired by the ADF such as the Black Hornet, PUMA AE and LE, Wasp, Skylark and R70 Skyranger, Switchblade 300, Insitu Pacific Integrator, and Sypaq CorvoX and Quantum Systems Vector 2-in-1.

My second point is that we need to be clear that drones will enhance the capabilities of, not replace or render irrelevant, advanced military platforms.

The ADF must own both ends of the spectrum. We have to master the manufacturing and evolution of our own drone capabilities, and we have to own the potent, high-end platforms that deliver long-range deterrent effects.

We are also teaming uncrewed capabilities with crewed platforms to amplify the effects of both.

In June at Woomera in South Australia a single operator aboard an airborne E-7A Wedgetail took control of two Australian made and designed Ghost Bat autonomous aircraft to conduct a mission against an airborne target. We will soon conduct an armed test of Ghost Bat.

And right now, at Talisman Sabre in northern Australia, the ADF is partnering with other nations to test and evaluate uncrewed systems designed to operate alongside advanced military platforms.

The final point I want to make is that Australia is a world leader in the development of drone and counter-drone technology.

Several Australian companies are successfully exporting drone and counter-drone technology, including those developed with government assistance.

SYPAQ Systems in Melbourne has exported its Precision Payload Delivery System – or “cardboard drone” – to Ukraine. This capability was initially developed through $1.1m in Army Innovation Day funding.

Electro Optic Systems in Canberra has also exported its Slinger counter-drone system to Ukraine.

Richard Marles and Anthony Albanese on a tour of a Virginia-class US submarine at HMAS Stirling.

And Droneshield in Sydney has exported its drone gun to Ukraine and recently won a $61.6m contract with a European military customer.

The Commonwealth has purchased more than $32m in products and services from Droneshield over the past three years.

To support Australian industry, the government is putting a serious amount of work and focused investment into building a resilient domestic industrial base with the ability to scale and innovate.

ASCA – the Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator – announced by the government in April 2023, is pivotal to this effort.

ASCA Mission Talon Strike is working with the army to support the development of sovereign medium-range precision loitering munition systems.

ASCA Mission Syracuse supports the next generation of counter-drone technology, including providing cutting-edge future capability options for LAND 156.

It is easy to fixate on specific platforms or weapon systems, but the Albanese government has always been clear-eyed about the fact that our people are the determining factor between failure and success.

It is the innovators in Australia’s defence industry and research and development sector, and our operators in the ADF, who are working together to give us the best understanding of what drone capabilities make sense to use in our strategic environment, and the best ways to use them.

Staying ahead of the drone technology curve will be a challenge, now and into the future. It is a challenge the Albanese government has already proven it is prepared to meet.

Pat Conroy is Minister for Defence Industry and Minister for Pacific Island Affairs.