The United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force and the Royal Australian Air Force have reactivated No. 80 Squadron, a historic unit for both service branches, to cooperate on mission data file programming for their respective F-35 variants’ warfighting capabilities. The RAF’s Squadron 80 traces back to World War I in 1917 but went inactive in 1969,...
Tag: Australia
Elbit Systems Seals $600M Deal to Integrate Advanced Systems Into Australian Army’s Redback IFVs
Elbit Systems has secured a $600 million contract to deliver systems for integration into the Australian Army’s fleet of Redback infantry fighting vehicles. The deal, part of Australia’s Land 400 Phase 3 Project, will provide “advanced protection, fighting capabilities and sensors suite” for the military vehicles, according to the Haifa, Israel-based contractor. The project, announced...
US Cuts Back Licensing Requirements for Australia, UK to Promote Trade, Innovation
The United States has scaled down its export control rules for Australia and the United Kingdom to advance defense trade and innovation among the three countries. The Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security, which released the interim final rule Thursday to govern trade flow for the AUKUS partners, estimated that the change would...
Anduril Ready to Deliver First Ghost Shark Underwater Drone to Royal Australian Navy; Shane Arnott Quoted
Anduril Australia will deliver a prototype of the Ghost Shark underwater drone to the Royal Australian Navy. Alongside industry partners, Anduril is building the first of three unmanned undersea vehicles co-developed by the Australian Department of Defence under an $89.7 million contract. Shane Arnott, engineering senior vice president at Anduril Industries, noted that up to...
Australia to Implement Force Design, Acquisition Changes to Deter Threats; Gen. Angus Campbell Quoted
Australia’s inaugural National Defence Strategy aims to deter and prevent conflict through changes within the Australian Defence Force, an approach called “Strategy of Denial.” Under the NDS, the ADF will move away from a domain-centric approach and transition to an integrated force focused on addressing the greatest risks facing the country. According to Gen. Angus...
US, Allies Publish Joint Guidance on AI System Cybersecurity
Agencies in the United States, New Zealand, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom have issued joint cybersecurity guidance to protect artificial intelligence systems from cyberthreats. The document describes how cyber actors often combine AI and traditional IT infiltration techniques to enable complex cyberattacks that surpass layers of defenses and provides best practices based on the...
US, Australian Navies Intercept Missile Target During Aegis Weapon System Test
The U.S. Navy has partnered with the Royal Australian Navy and Royal Australian Air Force to test a ballistic missile defense system in the Pacific. On March 28, the armed forces intercepted an advanced medium-range ballistic missile type 3 configuration 2 using the Standard Missile-6 Dual II as part of the Missile Defense Agency’s Flight Test Aegis Weapon System...
BAE, ASC to Build Australia’s Fleet of Sovereign Nuclear-Powered Submarines; Charles Woodburn Quoted
BAE Systems is collaborating with ASC to deliver Australia’s sovereign nuclear-powered submarines. The Australian government selected the two companies to build a fleet of advanced attack submarines under its AUKUS security pact with the United States and the United Kingdom. Under the agreement, BAE and ASC will combine their skills, expertise and capabilities to produce...
New Defense Pact Seeks to Enhance UK-Australia Security Cooperation
Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles and U.K. Secretary of State for Defence Grant Shapps have signed a new defense and security cooperation agreement to strengthen the partnership between Canberra and London on common issues and concerns. The U.K. government said the pact was signed during the annual Australia-United Kingdom Ministerial Consultations, or AUKMIN, held Friday...
Australia Partners With Microsoft to Create Cyber Intelligence Sharing Platform
Australia has unveiled a collaborative effort between the Australian Signals Directorate and Microsoft to beef up the country’s cybersecurity. Under the partnership program, ASD connected its Cyber Threat Intelligence Sharing platform with Microsoft Sentinel, allowing the latter’s Australian users to immediately share cyberthreat information on the combined systems. According to ASD, the collaboration provides access...