Last Friday, the Defence ministry made announcements to reaffirm that they are in a strong place to deliver new innovations in the post COVID-19 era with new space technologies and radar systems that are among eight new projects being developed by Australian industry through the federal government’s $640 million Defence Innovation Hub.
Minister for Defence Industry, Melissa Price said the new Defence Innovation Hub contracts are worth more than $14.6 million.
“The latest tranche of investments includes seven contracts awarded to small businesses from across Australia and a contract with University of Technology Sydney,” Price said.
She also said that the contracts will support the development of a range of technologies that span areas such as space, electronic warfare, and power generation to build a more advanced and capable Defence Force.
Among the seven contracts awarded to those small businesses was Jenkins Engineering Defence Systems which was awarded over $3 million to continue the development of its radar electronic support system.
“This technology has the potential to provide the Navy with a cost-effective system to automate warnings and determine the type and location of radar signals,” Price said.
Others included South Australian based DEWC Systems which was awarded a $3.1 million contract to develop a sovereign, space tactical sensor system.
The Defence Innovation Hub has awarded over $200 million in innovation contracts, with more than 80 per cent of this investment flowing to small Australian businesses.
The full list of awardees can be found on the Defence ministers’ web pages.