Op-Ed: Australia’s defence industry will deliver

For the many thousands of Australians who work for companies that deliver products, solutions and expertise to the Australian Defence Force today, there is a recognition that our businesses only exist because we can truly offer a decisive and strategic advantage – a winning edge for our armed forces on the modern battlefield.

The recent announcement by the Prime Minister to invest $270 billion over the next 10 years to upgrade the capability of the Australian Defence Force in order to tackle head on the increasingly complex and changing security environment, is a sensible extension to the 2016 White Paper.

It is a very prudent step for the security of the nation and one that will require the Australian defence industry to draw upon its collective expertise and ingenuity to modernise the Australian Defence Force.

Make no mistake – industry has a critically important role and it will deliver.

Luckily, we’re not starting from scratch. Australia is an industrious and innovative country. And this culture of innovation is strong within the defence industry.

We have achieved this through isolation as an island nation, adversity, smaller budgets compared with our competitors, and because we have some incredibly talented people who are passionate about providing the very best for the men and women who are charged with keeping us safe.

It is this culture that has led to the spiral development of defence technology here in Australia that is today delivering capability, export earnings and intellectual property that is sovereign to our nation.

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As a result, Australian-made defence technologies are today playing an important role in supporting Australia’s economic resilience, as well as underpinning our national security.

I believe that there are a number of key sovereign capabilities that Australia’s defence industry have established in collaboration with Defence and continue to invest in, that will be central to the Defence posture that has been outlined by the Commonwealth government and to the success of industry in the decades ahead.

The first of those technologies relates to advances in autonomy. Through more than three decades of collaboration with Defence, Australia has some very solid expertise and experience in the technology that underpins autonomous systems.

One of the best examples is the nation’s most successful defence export – Nulka. Since production began, Nulka has generated more than a billion dollars in cumulative export earnings. Central to its success are the autonomous technologies that allow it to be fired from a warship and hover over the water to lure missiles away from their intended target. Nulka is in service on Australian and allied warships.

Today, the defence industry is working with the Australian Defence Force to drive autonomy into our armoured vehicles, into sixth-generation aircraft, and in underwater and surface vessels at sea.

Whether it is in the air, on land, or at sea, the development of autonomous systems can allow Australia to project force further than we ever have before, and in doing so remove people from harm’s way.

The second area of strategic significance that will receive increased investment in Australia is over the horizon radar. Here too, Australia leads the world in using high frequency technologies, which underpin the Jindalee Operational Radar Network (JORN).

Using high frequency (HF) technologies developed in Australia, JORN is the eyes and ears of the Royal Australian Air Force, monitoring Australia’s northern approaches through a network of three remote radars in Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

JORN plays a vital role in supporting the ADF’s air and maritime operations and border protection.

Industry is continuing to invest and collaborate with Defence to further evolve ‘the DNA’ of HF technologies to make the radar more effective.

BAE Systems has established a purpose-built HF laboratory where new technologies to support the upgrade of JORN will be developed.

New HF technologies will allow the military to ‘see’ and ‘hear’ things sooner, gathering critically important data quicker than ever before, which will underpin faster analysis and therefore improved decision making.

Maintaining an edge in HF technologies also keeps the door open to valuable exports. BAE Systems Australia has been exporting world leading HF systems technology for the past 10 years.

The third technology that I believe will be critical over the next 10 years is antisubmarine warfare.

The Hunter Class frigates that we are designing today will build upon the UK’s Type 26 Frigate – the world’s most advanced Global Combat Ship, combing anti-air warfare and anti-submarine warfare into a single warship.

The technological boon that Australia will receive through this program is a workforce of Australian engineers and Australian industry with the capability and skills to be at the cutting edge of naval warship design for decades to come.

Thousands of Australian companies will participate in this program over three decades. Our challenge together is to provide products and technologies that will ensure the Hunter Class frigates are world-class submarine hunters.

Over time, these companies will further develop and grow their unique capabilities – their ‘made in Australia’ capabilities.

These companies will then add to the foundations created on the Hunter program, to support a continuous naval shipbuilding capability in Australia.

A comprehensive R&T program will support and enable the development of technologies that have never before been used in shipbuilding.

The foundations for this are already taking shape with our partnership on projects with Flinders University and the University of SA and the Innovative Manufacturing Co-operative Research Centre that will underpin the development of new digital manufacturing technologies. Shipyard employees will be connected through the use of handheld devices that allow them to access both the latest design drawings and their daily work orders.

Importantly, with digital shipbuilding, the aim is to run a digital thread from the design process, through manufacturing and sea trials right through to ship sustainment. 

Through recently announced funding for Digital Information strategies, we hope that our research and development in this field will leverage the advantage that the Hunter program brings and deliver innovative through-life support strategies based on advanced analytics, making the Royal Australian Navy the leading force in smart operator technologies.

We’re also scaling up the new “Line Zero Factory of the Future”, which is an initiative at the Tonsley Innovation Precinct in South Australia that will see new and innovative advanced manufacturing techniques developed and tested, ahead of full-scale construction of the frigates commencing.

While Hunter is the focus for many people now, we’re looking well beyond Hunter, and how the work we do today to transfer knowledge and know-how on that program will ensure that Australia’s next generation of warships will be designed and built in Australia.

Digital technologies will underpin continuous naval shipbuilding and the development of a new sovereign industrial capability in Australia.

The adoption and integration of advanced technologies will produce revolutionary change in shipbuilding and significantly increase the capabilities of our supply chain.

The history of battle has always been defined by technological advances that gave battle-winning advantages upon which lives depended.

Today’s challenges are no different. And our defence industry can help the nation by being willing to try new things.

By being open to failing fast or investing fast when success is found, I believe Australia’s defence industry can punch well above its weight. The bottom line is better protection to our nation.

Gabby Costigan joined BAE Systems Australia as chief executive officer in October 2017. As CEO she is responsible for one of the nation’s largest defence companies, which has supported the Australian Defence Force for more than 65 years.

Gabby retired as a Colonel in the Australian Army after a distinguished career that included operational experience commanding logistic operations for both Australian and US deployed military forces.

Gabby is a board member on the Australian-ASEAN Council promoting Australia’s interests in south-east Asia. She is also the chair of the Council for Women and Families United by Defence Service. She is also a member of the UNSW Canberra Advisory Council and the University of Adelaide – Defence, Cyber and Space Advisory Board.

Gabby has been honoured for her military service by the Australian and US governments and NATO. She was awarded a Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 2019.