#Official Defence Thread

[western]

Any news yesterday about the proposed shift to WA of collins class maintenance from Scmo? Could not access on line his Osborne speech or any other from him yesterday. Hopefully no change - we cant afford mid stream alterations like that - esp. in covid. Did he say anything about infrastructure spends for SA other that Osborne?

ADELAIDE - TOWARDS A GREATER CITY.

[SRW]

Any news yesterday about the proposed shift to WA of collins class maintenance from Scmo? Could not access on line his Osborne speech or any other from him yesterday. Hopefully no change - we cant afford mid stream alterations like that - esp. in covid. Did he say anything about infrastructure spends for SA other that Osborne?

ADELAIDE - TOWARDS A GREATER CITY.

In typical fashion, he dodged questions on subs and just re-announced already announced stuff about the frigates. Apparently the government has been 'too focused on COVID-19 response' to make the decision about Perth/Adelaide, never mind that one would hope national defence planning perseveres in all circumstances. It's not reassuring, because you can bet that if there was something good to spin, he would have said it; the bad news will be dumped on a lesser minister to deliver.

[rev]

Any news yesterday about the proposed shift to WA of collins class maintenance from Scmo? Could not access on line his Osborne speech or any other from him yesterday. Hopefully no change - we cant afford mid stream alterations like that - esp. in covid. Did he say anything about infrastructure spends for SA other that Osborne?

ADELAIDE - TOWARDS A GREATER CITY.

In typical fashion, he dodged questions on subs and just re-announced already announced stuff about the frigates. Apparently the government has been 'too focused on COVID-19 response' to make the decision about Perth/Adelaide, never mind that one would hope national defence planning perseveres in all circumstances. It's not reassuring, because you can bet that if there was something good to spin, he would have said it; the bad news will be dumped on a lesser minister to deliver.

He actually said they will make that decision but it's not a priority right now.
There's a chance that they've already decided, but are waiting for the "right moment". Probably when work starts on the new subs or frigates, and they will spin it as well SA gets all the major build work, WA can have a small slice of maintenance work.

But, I wouldn't at all be surprised and in fact its probably more likely that they haven't even decided yet, and they have no idea and it's all a big mess. This government doesn't exactly give anyone confidence that it has a strong grasp on running the country does it.

[western]

I caught up with some of what went on re Scomo's visit but nothing specific about the maintenance shift as you say. Will not go down well here./

ADELAIDE - TOWARDS A GREATER CITY

[rev]

That's why I said it's either being delayed till they announce work is officially starting on the frigates and subs, which will be accompanied by a rounded off figure of "new" jobs for those projects, and then oh btw we're sending 700 maintenance jobs to WA, but yeh you got XXXX new jobs here. Or they really haven't decided because they're incompetent.

Anyway here's a video on twitter with a brief glimpse of the new facility for the frigates, it's bloody huge.
https://twitter.com/marshall_steven/sta ... 7469424640

[mattblack]

Not sure where to put this;

Cyber Security training enhanced with test range in Adelaide

BUSINESS

The Australian Cyber Collaboration Centre has opened its Cyber Test Range at Lot Fourteen in time for the annual Australian Cyber Week showcase.

The new Cyber Test Range at the Australian Cyber Collaboration Centre (A3C) will allow organisations to test their systems against cyber attacks.
Known as A3C, the Australian Cyber Collaboration Centre opened Australia’s largest cyber test range last week and will host a series of events as part of a national week to promote the growing industry.

The Cyber Test Range is the largest commercial cyber range in Australia and will provide a safe virtual environment to practice handling real-world cyber warfare scenarios through training and evaluation of the latest cyber threats and technologies.

A3C CEO Hai Tran said this collaboration and training within the Range facilities is part of the reason the A3C is the hub of cyber security in Australia.

“The A3C enables South Australia to become the safest place to conduct business through bringing global expertise and best practice to Australia, connecting them with the brightest minds from academia and small to medium-sized businesses,” Tran said.

Australia’s small cyber security sector is forecast to triple its revenue over the coming decade due to increased demand for cyber security products and services, according to AustCyber, the national body for the industry and a partner at the A3C.

The majority of Australian organisations currently lack the capacity to employ large internal cyber security teams which, in turn, creates demand for external, often international cyber services, and the situation has become even more dire as COVID-19 had many businesses pivoting to online services.

To address the shortage and promote industry growth, AustCyber is hosting the national cyber security week, which started Monday and runs until Friday with 30 events that span the industry such as cyber-attack simulations and the annual National Missing Persons Hackathon.

AustCyber CEO Michelle Price said the week was a key program in the organisation’s mission to grow a globally competitive cyber security sector in Australia.

“The events during Australia’s Cyber Week connect Australian cyber capabilities with key domestic and international stakeholders who are contributing to the growth and success of the sector and creates further opportunities to enhance future economic growth,” she said.

“The range of speakers is broad – ranging from CEOs of large corporates and venture capital investors, to ethical hackers, school students with a keen interest in cyber, and those with disabilities working within the sector.”

In Adelaide, the A3C will host events to promote the new centre’s capabilities, including the launch of the SA Cyber Skills Matrix that outlines the current skills shortage and future demand for cyber skilled workers.

Minister for Innovation and Skills David Pisoni said the government invested $10 million in the A3C to address this skills shortage.

“Cyber security is a high demand industry, and the Cyber Training Academy in the A3C, facilitated in the Cyber Test Range, supports the development of a strong talent pool of cyber professionals through upskilling and training opportunities,” he said.

Last week the A3C put the new Range to the test by hosting the Splunk Global Champion of Champions Boss of the SOC (BOTS) competition, the only place in the world to host an in person competition of the event that is usually held in Las Vegas as part of an annual Splunk conference.

Adelaide had 30 participants in the A3C Range from five teams, including industry teams from SAGE Automation and SAAB.

Simon Eid, Group Vice President of Splunk for Australia said Splunk BOTS is a capture-the-flag type competition where teams use the power of data to monitor security, investigate incidents and defeat threats.

“The ability to run competitions such as the Boss of the SOC in a world-class facility like the A3C Cyber Test Range is a game-changer for South Australia and the wider nation,” Eid said.

[rev]

Photos from an AdelaideNow article re the the new submarine manufacturing facility.

[Will]

Reports on the ABC tonight that the government will scrap the current submarine contract with France, and rather go with American nuclear powered submarines. Although probably a better deal for the Commonwealth, nonetheless this seems like a crushing blow to SA. Wonder what package we will get as compensation, or are we expected to wither and die into an agricultural backwater?

[Will]

Initial reports last night mentioned Perth. Glad this has been cleared up this morning, and the build will remain here. Would have been a devastating loss to the state had this been moved interstate.

[Nort]

Initial reports last night mentioned Perth. Glad this has been cleared up this morning, and the build will remain here. Would have been a devastating loss to the state had this been moved interstate.

We'll see. Remember how much was initially announced as planned for SA in the previous deal that ended up being planned to do overseas.

[Nort]

And today reports already saying that the previous 60% local build requirement has been dropped to 40% for this deal.

[rev]

Both AIDN and Project Alpha Plus agree that Australia had all the skills, technology and experience necessary to build key components of the submarine, including the steel hull, parts of the combat system, sonar, propellers, the torpedo handling system and much more.

"I think we probably will need to have to build overseas initially, in order to get the timeline reduced," Mr Hennessy said.

"But I think, longer term, you will probably find it will be of that order of 70 per cent or more local content by the end of the final builds."

Mr Ferguson noted, from his experience scrutinising the Collins class submarine project, that most of the money spent in Australia was outside South Australia.

"The reality was that 75 cents, at least, in every dollar that went into the submarine project, went straight outside the state again," he observed.

"So any any big project of this kind is a whole-of-nation project."

https://www.msn.com/en-au/money/markets ... ar-AAOyFiK

[rev]

Adelaide’s Nova Systems is bidding to kit out our soldiers of the future with drones, robots and personal exoskeletons

An Adelaide-led consortium is bidding to fit out the nation’s high-tech future soldiers to fight on networked battlefields with robots and drones.
Cameron England
Cameron England
@CameronEngland
3 min read
October 8, 2021 - 7:20PM
The Australian Business Network

The science-fiction soldiers of the future - kitted out with personal exoskeletons, electronic translators and supported by drones and robots, are about to become a reality for Australia’s armed forces.

It’s a vision which Team Sabre - a tripartite collaboration between Adelaide’s Nova Systems, BAE Systems Australia and Safran - wants to bring to life as part of its bid for the Federal Government’s Land 125 Phase 4 Integrated Soldier System.

Sabre - the Soldier Augmentations and Battlefield Robotic Enablers - draws on skills honed on the ground in Afghanistan and Iraq across all three companies, and aims to ensure that the solution proposed will equip Australian soldiers with everything from body armour to batteries to ensure they are fighting fit for the 21st century.

Nova Systems capture manager Kyle Stockman, who graduated from the Australian Defence Force Academy a decade ago and served for 10 years in the Australian Defence Force (ADF), including being deployed to Iraq in 2017, said technology played an increasingly vital part on the battlefield.


The infantry soldier system being designed by Team SABRE, which is made up of Nova Systems, Safran and BAE Systems Australia. Supplied

The next generation of soldiers will be accompanied by robots to carry equipment, personal and platoon drones which can be deployed for reconnaissance and operational reasons, and will at times be equipped with personal exoskeletons conferring superhuman lifting power and the ability to carry heavier loads for longer.

And with modern soldiers operating as part of a networked whole, lightweight, high-powered batteries are a necessity - which throws up a soldier’s heat signature as a problem to solve.

BAE business development manager John Shipp, who helped trained Iraqi security forces and served in the Royal Australian Army’s mechanised 7th Battalion, said with technology demands adding to other vital equipment and supplies including water, food, sleeping gear and ammunition, the individual load carriage was becoming too heavy.

“Our platoons need to be able to patrol and fight for extended periods without depending on vulnerable supply lines or carrying more weight than the human body should carry.

“A big part of the Integrated Soldier System is lightening this load – giving our soldiers more endurance and mobility, and hopefully a few less injuries too.

“It’s also about making sure people with different body types can serve effectively on our front lines without breaking themselves.’’


The Team Sabre bid will involve autonomous vehicles, drones and personal exoskeletons. Picture: Supplied

Mr Stockman said Sabre had recently been down-selected - defence jargon for short-listed - for the Land 125 tender.

The tender is expected to be worth more than $1bn over its eight to ten year lifetime, and is designed to supply soldiers with everything they need to be deployed for 72 hours without being resupplied.

Mr Stockman said the three companies involved in Sabre had the complementary skills, and veterans with battlefield experience, to be able to supply the complex needs of the tender.

“The Commonwealth is looking for an industry partner to provide really two aspects: you’re looking at the soldier as a platform, and everything on him, and you’re looking at the RAP, or robotic autonomous platforms.

“What sits under the soldier as a platform, you’re looking at protective equipment, load carriage systems or exoskeletons, your power management systems as well as your data management.

“As well as signature management. You can imagine all of this data, all of this power, that generates a lot of heat. Potentially an opposition could view that through respective lenses, so how do we reduce that?’’

Mr Stockman said the ADF had also specified some particular kit such as electronic translators which could be used in the field to communicate with local residents.

On the robotic front, Mr Stockman said BAE had a lot of experience in this field, with its Loyal Wingman stealth uncrewed aircraft an example.

“(There will be) small drones that can go out ahead of the soldier and be able to identify what’s ahead of them, and in real time provide that information back to the soldier and the team, which is integrated and networked, so they have a great idea what’s ahead of them, where the opposition and the friendlies are. That’s what we call situational awareness.

“The more information you have at hand, the greater advantage you have in that environment.’’

There would also be unmanned ground vehicles.

“That could include casualty evacuation, you could put stretchers on that, right through to logistic elements, putting rations or water or whatever that may be, and potentially you’ll press a button and it will follow you or go to respective points on the map,’’ Mr Stockman said.

Mr Stockman said the operational experience of the participants in the Sabre team was feeding in to the bid.

“We understand what the soldier cares about. Anything that can reduce your physical or cognitive burden makes you able to make decisions quicker and have a competitive edge.

The request for tender for Land 425 is expected to close towards the end of this year with delivery to the ADF expected in 2024.

https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/business ... 3c2677a78c

[Pistol]

SAAB is expanding its Mawson Lakes HQ.
They are spending $77m to increase the size of their premise on Third Avenue.
To put it into perspective, their existing building is that in the top left.

I would say that Lockheed Martin Australia would also expand their building in the not too distant future...

https://adbr.com.au/saab-australia-to-e ... dquarters/

[ghs]

SAAB is expanding its Mawson Lakes HQ.
They are spending $77m to increase the size of their premise on Third Avenue.
To put it into perspective, their existing building is that in the top left.

I would say that Lockheed Martin Australia would also expand their building in the not too distant future...

https://adbr.com.au/saab-australia-to-e ... dquarters/

If the liberals remain in power over the next 20 years or so then there’s a huge opportunity here in SA in terms of defence.

Given the flooding that’s occurred in Queensland and northern NSW unlikely that there will be much expansion of defence facilities in those areas.

The nuclear submarine project is going to be a massive project for SA.

I could see the defence industry here in SA doubling or tripling in size over the next 20 years if the liberals stay in government.