Login
iscover
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles attended the opening of AIM Defence’s new 4,000-square-metre manufacturing and export facility, supporting the production of its Fractl counter-UAS laser.
To continue reading the rest of this article, please log in.
Create free account to get unlimited news articles and more!
The facility is expected to increase the production of Fractl units, an ultra-compact and high power tactical CUAS capability.
The system can track drones flying at 100 kilometres an hour up to one kilometre away to within one millimetre. AIM Defence has explained that this allows the system to shoot down drones up to 1.5 kilometres away.
The first prototype was delivered to Defence earlier in the year, where it underwent two weeks of test and evaluation exercises before receiving first place at a Canadian C-UAS sandbox.
The company received a $1 million prize for the accomplishment.
“Our investment into these state-of-the-art facilities demonstrates AIM’s drive and commitment to high-value manufacturing in Australia, we’re proud to be building cutting-edge systems for Australian Defence and our allies right here in Melbourne” Dr Jae Daniel, co-CEO of AIM, said.
The company hopes that the new facility will cement Australia as a world leader in directed energy systems, serving as a base for a team of researchers, scientists and engineers to support the capability.
The opening comes as demand for directed energy systems continues to increase, Jessica Glenn, co-CEO of AIM, explained.
“Fractl’s success on the global stage has shown the world that Australia is at the forefront of tactical directed energy. This has spurred significant demand from both our own ADF as well as some of our key allies around the world. The investment in this facility is all about meeting this demand and anchoring our core manufacturing and research here in Australia.
