Latest News from ADA-Vic

Hi Juanita,

ADA-Vic would like congratulate the Hon Anthony Albanese, MP on his successful election as the 31st Prime Minister of Australia!

We look forward to a the successful working relationship with the new ministers for Defence and Defence Industry. We would like to thank the outgoing Minister for Defence Industry, Melissa Price, for her work in furthering the interests of SMEs in the defence industry in Australia and wish her all the best in her future endeavours.

ADA-Vic would also like to honour and recognise 2022 Reconciliation week - 27th May to 3rd June. This year’s theme for Reconciliation is ‘Be Brave. Make Change’. Home - National Reconciliation Week 2022. We would like to acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Filling The Void - How Australian SMEs Can Grow and Build Sovereign Capability

"A window of opportunity exists for small and medium Australian businesses to grow and build sovereign defence capability to meet our nation's ongoing security needs.

So, what can we do to ensure Australian-owned businesses can take on greater responsibility for our own security interests?"

Here is a summary of the address Given by Rebecca Humble, Chief of Strategy and Corporate Affairs at Nova Systems Australia and New Zealand’s inaugural SME Summit during the Indo Pacific 2022, addressing the challenges and offering solutions.

Filling The Void - How Australian SMEs can grow and build sovereign capability to meet our nation's ongoing security needs. | LinkedIn

The Office of Defence Industry Support (ODIS) invites you to attend ODIS Forums in Brisbane, Launceston and Sydney in June 2022. These events are an opportunity to hear from Defence industry leaders, key defence contractors and business experts about business readiness and how to best prepare for entry into the Defence market.

The first of these ODIS Forums will be in Brisbane on 2 June 2022, at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre. Further information and registration details for all three Forums can be found at ODIS Forum 2022 – Register Now! | business.gov.au

Additional Forums will be held in each capital city throughout 2022, details will be added as locations and dates are confirmed. ODIS is also holding a number of Defence Regional Briefings throughout the year.

Seeking Collaborative Project Proposals in Medical Countermeasures

Health Security Systems Australia (HSSA), a division of DMTC Ltd, is currently seeking Expressions of Interest (EOI) for collaborative project proposals focused on the following priority themes:

Anti-infective therapeutics, including against antimicrobial resistance
Vaccine products or platform technologies for infectious disease threats
Medical Countermeasures against chemical threats

All information about the EOI process and submission requirements can be found on our website. EOI submissions must be made by 11:59pm AEST on 30 June 2022, and an information session and Q&A will be presented as a webinar at 12:00pm AEST on Thursday 9 June. Registration for the webinar is also available on our website.

Please direct any questions to mcm.eoi@dmtc.com.au, and a relevant post on LinkedIn that you can share is available here.

From Defence:

Defence has announced $1 billion will be invested to revamp the Special Operations Command’s capability (LAND 1508) to deliver new highly specialised communications, land and water vehicles, weapons and tactical equipment and facilities. See more here.
Defence will send another 30 armoured vehicles, including an additional 20 Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicles, to Ukraine as part of a new military support package. See more here.
Defence awards Leidos Australia the JP2060 Phase 4 contract, for the delivery of a health knowledge management system for the Australian Defence Force. See more here.
Defence extends Mine Warfare Maintenance Facility support contract with Qinetiq by five years. See more here.
Defence rolls out the Navy’s new maritime multi-patterned uniform (MMPU), manufactured by Victorian company Australian Defence Apparel (ADA), using fabric manufactured by Bruck Textiles in Wangaratta. See more here.

Other News:

The Indo-Pacific 2022 International Maritime Exposition in Sydney, which attracted a record number of Defence industry businesses and international naval delegations. See more here.
Jankel has partners with IDES to deliver defence sector capability to Australia and will focus on current and future equipment programmes such as LAND 1508 to improve equipment for Australian Special Forces. See more here.
Titomic launches newly acquired tech at IndoPac 2022, including the D523 handheld system which helps users to more quickly apply stronger metal coatings for various products and materials including metal, glass, ceramic and plastics. See more here.
Sentient Vision launches AI enabled ViDAR Surface solution at Indo Pacific 2022. The system is able to autonomously detect, track, classify and filter objects – all within a self-contained pod. See more here.
Defence contractor Thales Australia is collaborating with Deakin University and the Innovative Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre (IMCRC) to develop a lightweight composite overwrap for gun barrels. See more here.
The IMCRC, hosted in Victoria, has funded the launch of Kurloo, an automated monitoring service working to transform the way industry measures displacement. See more here.
BAE Systems Australia secures $50million export contract as part of the global Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM) program. Up to 33 Australian SMEs including Victorian companies, RUAG Australia, Ronson Gears and Astute Electronics, will manufacture and supply parts into BAE Systems’ manufacturing facilities at Edinburgh Parks. See more here.
Attached is an ADM’s list of Defence tenders.
REMINDER Nominations are now open for the Australian Aviation Awards. Nominations close on 30 June 2022. See more here.

Upcoming Domestic Events:

15 June 2022 – Trusted Autonomous Systems 2022 Symposium. See more here.
22 June 2022 – ADM Congress. See more here.
20 - 22 July 2022 – Australian Defence Science and Technology Research Summit. See more here.
26-27 July 2022 – Beyond Transits: The Emerging Security Relevance of the Indian Ocean. See more here.
15 August 2022 – ADM STEM in Defence Summit. See more here.
4 - 6 October 2022 – Land Forces International Land Defence Exposition. See more here.
11 - 17 November 2022 – Maritime RobotX Challenge. See more here.
28 February – 5 March 2023 – Australian International Aerospace & Defence Exposition (28 February – 3 March) and the Australian International Airshow (3-5 March). See more here.

Victorian Common User Facility

If industry requires access to secure communications facilities to engage with Defence, this can be provided through the Victorian Common User Facility.

Defence Industry Support Tools

The Office of Defence Industry Support has several tools to support defence SMEs. The Defence Business Readiness Tool, the Digital Readiness Assessment Tool, and the Cyber Security Assessment Tool.

Links to Grant and other Programs:

Australian Defence Export Office Pitch Training Program

The ADEO, in partnership with Marketing Entourage, have created a five week online pitch training program specifically for businesses looking to export defence and dual use goods and services. This training is fully subsidised for Australian Defence Industry businesses.

The program is specifically designed to improve the chances of success for Australian defence industry companies when engaging with opportunities to pitch their capabilities to foreign military and military suppliers. The training is delivered through a series of webinars, online modules and one-to-one pitch practice sessions.

Australian Defence Industry businesses are encouraged to apply by registering their interest at the link below. Multiple people from the same business can be included as a single application. Limited spaces are available on each cohort and the ADEO will prioritise businesses who have recently participated in an industry delegation with TDA.

Click here to learn more about the Online Pitch Training Program and to register your interest.

BAE Systems Hunter Class Opportunities

BAE Systems Maritime Australia’s Innovation team is seeking Expressions of Interest from industry to support the Hunter Class Frigate Program (HCFP) to:

Investigate manufacturing technologies, materials, coatings, and processes with the potential to improve the sail away performance of the nine Hunter class frigates;
Investigate infrastructure, the workforce, and shipyard capabilities to ensure the Osborne Naval Shipyard maintains high levels of productivity, quality and safety; and,
Investigate ongoing maintenance or future capability upgrades that may immediately influence the design and delivery of the nine Hunter Frigates to be built at the Osborne Naval Shipyard in South Australia.

The team will evaluate submissions quarterly - with feedback - until June 2022.

Each EOI reviewed by the Hunter Innovation Team may be considered for future steps including a Request for Information (RFI) and/or Request for Proposal (RFP). This may lead to a an agreement for a scope of work which could be in the form of a Research Task, Case Study; Feasibility Studies; Proof of Concept; Prototyping; or other agreed scope of work.