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Defence’s Export Strategy has received some of its highest praise yet, with ASX-listed developer and manufacturer of counter-drone products, DroneShield, declaring the strategy is already bearing fruit.
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DroneShield, which last week announced a $3.2 million sovereign order for 70 units of its DroneGun tactical jammer product for a Middle Eastern ministry of defence allied with the Western countries, said the support from Australian Defence attaches across the globe and the whole of government approach touted in the strategy has already delivered for the Australian company.
"On 29 January 2018, The Hon Christopher Pyne MP, Australian Minister for Defence Industry, announced the new Defence Export Strategy (the strategy) of the Turnbull government. After a careful review of the strategy, in late February 2018, DroneShield released its analysis of the strategy and its conclusion that the strategy was not an aspirational theoretical policy, but rather is a carefully thought-through and practical roadmap to attaining ambitious but perfectly achievable goals that will benefit Australia," the company said in a statement.
"DroneShield would like to acknowledge that, consistent with the 'whole of government' approach employed by the strategy, DroneShield has been receiving valuable assistance from Australian Defence attaches in several locations in Europe and the Middle East.
"This assistance, which lends weight and credibility to a small company like DroneShield, has been very valuable for the company, and DroneShield expects that it will continue to prove important, in securing substantial further orders globally. Further, DroneShield would like to acknowledge the assistance provided by the staff of the MENA (Middle East and north Africa) section of the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) to DroneShield this year."
DroneShield has also been a member of Team Defence Australia, a join initiative with Austrade and the Department of Defence, since late last year.
"Participation in Team Defence Australia has enabled the company to showcase its products at a range of key defence and security events globally, something that would not have happened in the absence of the Team Defence Australia initiative," DroneShield said.
DroneShield's $3.2 million order for 70 units of its DroneGun tactical jammer product for a Middle Eastern Ministry of Defence is not only the largest order in DroneShield’s history but also the largest known order for tactical drone mitigation equipment of this kind globally in the history of the nascent counter-drone industry.
The order is expected to pave the way for substantial additional orders for DroneShield’s products from a number of other allied foreign governments.
"With the initial orders for DroneShield’s cutting-edge anti-drone products DroneGun, DroneSentinel and DroneSentry now coming in, the help provided by the government to DroneShield (all of it non-financial) will provide the Australian public with a multiplier effect in employment, domestic manufacturing, cash in-flows for the economy, innovation and our domestic ability to defend Australia without relying on others," Peter James, DroneShield chairman, commented.
