The potential benefits of AI for the defence industry are substantial. AI can help soldiers make better decisions in complex and rapidly evolving situations by providing them with real-time information and insights on the battlefield.

AI can also automate routine tasks such as logistics, freeing up soldiers and officers to focus on more critical tasks.

AI can be used in human–machine teams to improve efficiency, increase combat power and achieve decision superiority, while lowering the risk to personnel.

DARPA
The Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency is a research and development agency of the United States Department of Defence responsible for the development of emerging technologies for use by the military.

We pursue our objectives through hundreds of programs. By design, programs are finite in duration while creating lasting revolutionary change. They address a wide range of technology opportunities and national security challenges. This assures that while individual efforts might fail—a natural consequence of taking on risk—the total portfolio delivers.

DARPA Lite - Australia
Cybersecurity, Land, Air, Sea and Space are the five dimensions where Australia needs to manage sovereign innovation, without fully relying on alliance partners overseas.

The Defence Strategic Review says…

“Defence’s current approach to capability acquisition is not fit for purpose. The system
needs to abandon its pursuit of the perfect solution or process and focus on delivering
timely and relevant capability.

Defence must move away from processes based around project management risk
rather than strategic risk management. It must be based on minimum viable capability in the shortest possible time.”

And in Germany:

"What used to take 10 years is now achieved in a few months. We will build a new shell plant in Germany in record time to create strategic security of supply," the Rheinmetall CEO said.

At the same time, in response to the #German government's accusations of insufficient support for Ukraine, Papperger stressed the good cooperation between officials and the arms industry.

"A lot has changed for the better in military procurement. Last year, Rheinmetall alone received orders or framework agreements worth more than €10 billion from the federal government for the Bundeswehr (German Federal Armed Forces) and Ukraine.”

Australia needs to be able to respond agilely and quickly to any potential challenge to Australia and its supply chains.

Ensuring Australians are secure online is a shared responsibility – everyone has a role to play. This Strategy sets out our plan to protect Australians online.

The world has never been more interconnected; our reliance on the internet for our prosperity and way of life never greater. Australia’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic has shown the importance of secure online connectivity. It has also shown Australians’ resilience and resolve to work together for a common goal. That same whole-of-nation partnership between government, businesses and the community must also be applied to ensuring Australia is cyber secure.

Australians are rightfully seizing the opportunities of our digital world. However, as the opportunities have increased, so too have cyber threats. Well-equipped and persistent state-sponsored actors are targeting critical infrastructure and stealing our intellectual property.

Cyber criminals are also doing great harm, in ltrating systems from anywhere in the world, stealing money, identities and data from unsuspecting Australians. They are taking advantage of COVID-19 to target families and businesses, including health and medical research facilities. And they are hiding on the dark web to tra c drugs and other illicit goods, and share abhorrent images of child abuse. Our response must be bold to meet this threat head on.

This Strategy positions us to meet these evolving threats. Our vision is a more secure online world

for Australians, their businesses and the essential services upon which we all depend. We will deliver this vision together, through complementary action by governments, businesses and the community. Through this Strategy the Coalition Government will invest $1.67 billion over ten years in cyber security – the largest ever nancial commitment to cyber security. We will develop new Government capabilities, incentivise industry to protect themselves and their customers, build trust in the digital economy, and support the community to be secure online.

This need for qualified cyber security specialists has been further intensified by the recent effects of COVID-19 which drove Australian businesses to shift their operations to online and their workforces to remote. With increasing cyber threats and a growing amount of sensitive information circulating online, Australia needs to move quickly to close the cyber security skills gap.

This government push towards a more secure internet has created an industry shift where most IT teams now require cyber security knowledge in order to service their business’s technological needs. With this projected industry growth comes the continuously growing need for skilled cyber security professionals, making those who possess these skills and qualifications highly sought-after. The shortage of skilled cyber security specialists also means that professionals with these skillsets can demand a higher salary.

Australia is building a robust, resilient and globally-competitive defence industry. It exports innovative defence technologies to key global partners and supports an agile and capable Australian Defence Force (ADF).

Some of our defence exports
• More than 70 companies share more than A$3 billion in contracts as part of the global Joint Strike Fighter Program investment. (Source: Australian Government 2023)
• Thales Australia Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicles, designed and built in Australia, are used by a number of countries including Fiji, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.
• The Nulka Active Missile Decoy protects ships from missiles and has been adopted by several nations. Its concept of a hovering rocket decoy was initiated in Australia by the Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) and developed in partnership with the US Department of Defence and BAE systems. It is currently deployed on over 150 Australian, US and Canadian warships.
• Droneshield, an Australian company that makes innovative AI-based counter drone systems, in July 2023 received a record A$33 million order from a US government agency. It followed a $9.9 million order from another customer among the Five Eyes community.

The Australian Government has adopted a policy of National Defence – the defence against potential threats arising from major power competition – as a new approach to defence planning and strategy.

The current defence industry policy was established in a very different environment to today. Risk of major power conflict was low, policy assuming a 10-year warning time, and industry capability was viewed largely in terms of supporting individual ADF programs.

The risk of a major conflict in the Indo-Pacific is real. China is openly using military and para-military forces to change the status -quo I the South China Sea, while in Europe Russia is continuing its war to annex Ukraine.

• The Australian defence industry should be considered a capability in its own right.

• Defence industry should be embedded within and managed as part of Australia’s broader national industry structure and policy.

• Defence industries should be strategically prioritised, then supported to achieve scale and surge capabilities.

• Government should use the full range of policy levers at its disposal to shape defence industry outcomes.

• Government should establish a Defence Industry Capability Manager.

Air Marshal Rob Chipman said the deployment of drones in the Ukraine war had lessons for armed forces across the world.

Ukraine's armed forces have successfully used drones for reconnaissance missions of Russian units while also deploying the unmanned aircraft to deliver lethal payloads against enemy targets.

Blaxland said the drones being acquired by the Australian Defence Force, such as the Loyal Wingman unmanned aircraft and the long-range Triton drone, were cheaper than conventional warplanes and would help compensate for lack of numbers.

Robotic and Autonomous Systems (RAS) will change future battlespaces and the way Army trains and fights.

Army’s 2022 RAS Strategy outlines how we will explore ways we team up with machines and systems through three themes; intelligent machine, machine to machine teaming, and human to machine teaming.

The benefits of RAS technology include maximising soldier performance, improving decision making, generating mass and scalable effects, protecting the force and operational efficiencies.

In collaboration with industry, academia, allies and partners, Army will explore emerging RAS opportunities through a ‘learn by doing’ approach that leverages the knowledge, skills and potential of our people.

Australia has capabilities along most of the space industry supply chain. By far the strongest areas are in applications where Australia has experience in integrating space sourced data into communications, Earth Observations from Space and Global Navigational Satellite Services (GNSS).

Manufacturing
Australia has no capability in the manufacture of large satellites and limited capability in design and specification of launch vehicles. However it does have capability in the specification and design of communications satellites through Optus and an emerging capability in the design and manufacture of nano- and micro-satellites in universities and emerging start-up companies.
Manufacturing of satellite sub-systems is an emerging capability that has good prospects. This includes high performance optics, radio communications systems, optical communications systems and on-board data handling. Many of these activities build on Australia’s capability in the manufacture of ground-based optical systems for astronomy, satellite laser ranging and space debris tracking.