Family firm takes on the big guns
From relative obsucrity a decade ago, family-owned business NIOA now plays an important – and growing – role on the defence scene.
May 2022
Getting the missile mix right
What types of missiles must be prioritised for local production to meet the needs of the ADF and to open up new markets for export?
Developing homegrown weapons frustrated by abundance of choice
Defence self-reliance is critical to reducing our strategic vulnerability in terms of war, but where should we begin?
Australia was once a world-class guided weapons producer
The current push for a Sovereign Guided Weapons Enterprise is seeking to recreate an industry that existed in Australia after World War II.
Can ADF fight hemispheric war?
The government’s decision to accelerate the creation of a $1bn Sovereign Guided Weapons Enterprise is a timely step in the face of a more adverse strategic outlook.
Pros and cons of weapon stockpiles
The ability to manufacture weapons here could mean that Australia will have a “secure pipeline of critical munitions as needed”.
Missile enterprise starting to take shape
After announcing that Australia would develop a guided weapons manufacturing capability, the government was silent on which weapons the enterprise was to produce.
What it takes to develop weapons build capability
Covid has delivered a sobering reminder that global supply chains can suddenly become essential to have in-country.
Navigating the new strategic world order
We need a hard and unsentimental look at the consequences of an Indo-Pacific strategic fault-line that has morphed into a chasm.
Skilling Queensland’s defence industry
Programs in Queensland include shipbuilding sustainment in the north and aerospace and armoured vehicles manufacturing in the southeast.
Joint R&D with US is a ‘game changer’
Candidates for the expected closer R&D co-operation with the US include space, hypersonic flight, guided weapons and autonomous systems.
Nuclear subs a game changer for Australia
Nuclear-powered submarines will hold potential adversaries at risk.
How to protect our missile supply chains
With the government planning to spend upwards of $100bn on guided weapons in the next two decades, what’s the big picture?
Raytheon to play a bigger role in guided weapons
Raytheon’s Michael Ward says guided weapons are critical to Australia’s military capability.
Sights on long-range precision strikes
The government plans to include longer-range strikes because new weapons in the region ‘have increased range, speed, precision and lethality’.
CEO has the smarts to guide missile project
Nova System’s Jim McDowell is turning his attention to a sovereign guided-missile enterprise.
Swarms of armed drones in future wars
While Australia remains preoccupied with a possible conflict of massed conventional forces, some conflicts involve use of small, relatively cheap aerial systems.
Thales rockets into guided weapons ring
Thales Australia has declared interest in the $100bn sovereign Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance Enterprise.
Australia on track for own military satellites
A key ingredient for strategic self-reliance is sovereign communications and the race is on to have a new satellite capability later this decade.
Hard lessons from Afghanistan campaign
For the ADF, working alongside American and British forces in Afghanistan laid the groundwork of trust from which AUKUS could emerge.
Lynx, Redback gunning for victory over fighting vehicles
For a contract worth between $18.1bn and $27.1bn, the army has completed trials of two fighting vehicles and a decision is expected early next year.
An ‘ominous’ de facto China-Russia alliance?
The growing challenge from China tends to crowd out other threats, including those from the military alignment of Moscow and Beijing.
Dogged focus on AI led to clever Kelpie
So just how hard is it to make an autonomous vehicle that can tell a bush from a rock? One of the few to have succeeded is Melbourne-based company.
Security pact to boost US presence in the Top End
Big increases in joint US air exercises, troop deployments and more sophisticated weapons systems are envisaged for the NT’s training ranges.
Darwin at centre of exciting space race
The Arnhem Space Centre in the Northern Territory is under construction, to be the first commercial facility outside of the US used by NASA staff.
Darwin port, harbour need to be anchored
The federal government is yet to fully exploit the nation’s strategic geography. Development of Australia’s most northern deepwater port, Darwin, is a case in point.
Interchangeable forces key to submarine success
AUKUS could accelerate the Northern Territory’s transformation into a vital alliance hub.
National security vision just the first step
To operate nuclear-powered submarines, Australia will need to develop shore infrastructure in Perth and potentially Darwin.
Vital infrastructure vulnerable to hypersonic threats
Forget a national missile defence, which is impractical and unaffordable. The goal should be a long-range protection of vital defence facilities in Australia’s north.
$200m thrust for base to service Triton
The Top End is due to host to some cutting-edge technology, when the Royal Australian Air Force bases its Triton maritime surveillance aircraft in the Northern Territory.
Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/special-reports/defence/may-2022/page/6