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Three Australian drone companies have received contracts valued at a combined $6.6 million as part of a new initiative from Defence to advance innovative technologies.
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AMSL Aero, Boresight, and Grabba have been awarded $2.2 million each from the Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator (ASCA), following a “fly-off” demonstration of their capabilities in April.
The contracts were granted as part of the Sovereign Uncrewed Aerial Systems Challenge and will see each of the firms complete the development of their prototypes and produce 100 general purpose uncrewed aerial systems (UAS).
ASCA hopes that the development of a sovereign UAS market will reduce the risk of supply chain risks while helping Defence to access higher volumes of drones at lower costs.
The contracts are evidence that Australia is capable of delivering a sovereign manufacturing capability in critical defence capabilities, head of ASCA Professor Emily Hilder said.
“ASCA has worked closely with industry to achieve a desired capability in a short time, proving that we can build a valuable sovereign base if we work together.
“As well as the focus on capability that Defence and other government agencies have demonstrated a need for, this challenge is also focused on how ASCA can use new approaches to accelerate development activities like this and with minimum overhead for engaging SMEs directly.”
The companies are based in NSW, the ACT, and Queensland.
The announcement comes as ASCA’s Mission Zero, the Ghost Shark, arrived in the United States for the first time aboard a Royal Australian Air Force C-17 heavy transport aircraft.
Designed and built in Australia, the Ghost Shark arrived in the United States via trans-Pacific flight by a Royal Australian Air Force C-17A, showcasing its rapid and agile expeditionary capabilities.
The arrival expands the test envelope for Ghost Shark by enabling concurrent testing on both sides of the Pacific and being available for collaboration with US government partners.
The vehicle was transported to coincide with Exercise Rim of the Pacific, one of the world’s largest maritime exercises held near the Hawaiian Islands to ensure the safety of sea lanes and security on the world’s oceans.
Ghost Shark is designed to support subsea maritime missions globally. It is a modular, multipurpose capability that can adapt to mission requirements, serving as an agile force multiplier.
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