Australia’s Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicles will be modified and upgraded with electronic warfare systems under a $75 million contract. Defence industry minister Pat Conroy this morning announced what he called the Land Force Level Electronic Warfare Project which will upgrade the Bushmasters, originally manufactured by Thales in Bendigo. Conroy said the systems would improve the…
Former senator Rex Patrick has released a list of defence equipment and capabilities that could be bought by Australia in place of spending upwards of $170 billion to buy a fleet of nuclear submarines. Patrick took to social media and said: “Australia should instead procure 20 off-the-shelf air independent conventional submarine, built here and improved…
The University of Sydney Rocketry Team has been announced as the overall winner of the Spaceport America Cup intercollegiate rocketry competition, held annually in New Mexico. Competing against 97 student teams from around the globe the University of Sydney team placed first in three categories – winning the overall competition and taking out first place…
By Peter Roberts The story on the stock market this year has been a bloodbath in the share price performance of Australia’s small coterie of high technology manufacturers. The worst month was June, when the the ASX 200 share index lost 8.9 percent of its value and the S&P/ASX All Technology Index went backwards by…
Australia’s shipbuilding and marine equipment industries will get a major boost with the announcement of a new ARC Industrial Transformation Training Centre for Biofilm Research and Innovation based at Flinders University in Adelaide. The $5 million centre will attract almost $7.65 million from industry and research partners and explore the microbiological complexities of biofilms commonly…
By Peter Roberts The big news for defence industry keeps on coming this week with defence minister Richard Marles focusing on elevating the role of Australian industry in Australia’s Anzus and Aukus pacts with our long-time ally, the United States. On Wednesday Marles, who is deputy prime minister, pledged to strengthen Australia’s defence industries and…
The New South Wales government has made available a $1.12 million grant from the NSW Regional Job Creation Fund Round 2 to help Thales Australia grow its advanced manufacturing capability in regional New South Wales. The funding will be matched dollar for dollar by Thales and will be invested in modern manufacturing capability and equipment…
Bega Cheese is leaving behind some of the cost pressures it faced during the Covid-19 pandemic, but is now facing rising milk prices from robust competition amongst dairy processors for available milk. The company told investors today that disruptions from the war in Ukraine, the impact of Covid-19 lockdowns in Shanghai on deliveries to China…
South Australia’s charge towards 100 percent renewable energy power got a fillip last year with the state reaching close to 70 percent renewable power on average, according to figures from the OpenNEM (National Energy Market) report. The state, which has transformed its energy system from one per cent renewables in only 15 years, was on…
The number of Australian innovating Australian businesses fell in the two years ended 30 June 2021, according to new data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Australia’s core innovation indicators – innovation-active businesses and innovating businesses – were 52 per cent and 45 percent of all businesses respectively. Of the innovation-active businesses, 36 percent…