iscover
Perth-based aerospace and defence manufacturer Innovaero will collaborate with US autonomous military drone agency Shield AI to deliver greater strike capability to the Australian Defence Force, under a new memorandum of understanding.
Penned at Land Forces 2026, the MoU will see the two companies partner up to integrate Shield AI’s Hivemind mission autonomy software into Innovaero’s Australian-designed One-Way Loitering (OWL) suite of autonomous precision munitions.
This content is available exclusively to Australian Aviation members.
A monthly membership is only $5.99 or save with our annual plans.
- Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
- Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
- Unlimited access to all Australian Aviation digital content
- Access to the Australian Aviation app
- Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
- Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
- Access to our Behind the Lens photo galleries and other exclusive content
- Daily news updates via our email bulletin
- Unlimited access to all Australian Aviation digital content
- Access to the Australian Aviation app
- Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
- Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
- Access to our Behind the Lens photo galleries and other exclusive content
- Daily news updates via our email bulletin
“This partnership offers greater sovereign local control for systems being developed and deployed for the ADF,” the companies said in a joint release.
Both companies spoke highly of the partnership and of the other’s capabilities and achievements.
Greg Tunny, CEO of Innovaero, praised Shield AI for its “proven track record” of integrating the Hivemind across a wide range of platforms and operational environments.
“That experience makes Shield AI an ideal partner as we collaborate to bring advanced mission autonomy to the OWL family,” Tunny said.
“Together, we are accelerating an Australian-designed capability while preserving Australia’s control over its critical defence technologies.”
Meanwhile, Adam Hogan, vice president of Hivemind for Australia, Asia and the Middle East at Shield AI, said: “Innovaero combines deep expertise in loitering munitions with a strong commitment to building sovereign capability in Australia.
“By integrating Hivemind into the OWL family, we will help the ADF plan and execute missions faster, coordinate multiple aircraft and operate when GPS or communications are degraded.”
“This collaboration will also give Australia greater control over how that autonomy is developed, tested and fielded,” Hogan added.
Operationally proven in combat, Hivemind has piloted more than 40 classes of vehicles, including F-16s, Group 5 Collaborative Combat Aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, helicopters, drone boats, one-way attack drones and ground vehicles, according to the release.
Hivemind was most recently integrated onto the Destinus Hornet loitering munition within two months, with teams from Australia supporting successful flight tests in Spain.
Meanwhile, Innovaero last year revealed upgraded guidance capabilities for its flagship OWL-B precision loitering munition and the first test demonstrator of the OWL-X variant.
For more defence and national security news and insights, visit Defence Connect.
Want to see more stories from trusted news sources?
Make Australian Aviation a preferred news source on Google.
Click here to add Australian Aviation as a preferred news source.
