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The Morrison government has signed a $3.9 million contract extension with DMTC that will help put cutting-edge capabilities into the hands of Australia’s service men and women.
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Announced Monday, the contract extension is intended to help build a vibrant and competitive innovation sector within defence industry.
Minister for Defence Industry Mellissa Price said DMTC had a strong track record of delivering for Defence and industry, from partnering with industry primes and their supply chains in sovereign capability areas, to building research networks and supporting future generations of researchers.
“I had the opportunity to visit DMTC in late 2019 and was impressed by their focus on making a positive impact across the defence and national security sectors,” said Minister Price.
“It is partnerships with organisations like DMTC that help Defence identify innovative technologies being developed by Australian businesses.”
Defence stipulated that the contract extension will include $1.65 million for research and development and innovation activities, as well as $1.1 million in support of DMTC’s supply chain development activities.
“It is great to see Defence and industry working together to provide opportunities for businesses based in regional Australia,” Minister Price said.
DMTC CEO Dr Mark Hodge said DMTC’s collaborative model would continue to leverage contributions from industrial partners at all levels of the supply chain and from Australian universities and research organisations.
“Our commitment is firm, and has been since we were established over a decade ago, to generating industrial capability for Australia in areas identified as priorities by Defence,” Dr Hodge said.
“Collaboration is about doing real work with shared purpose. That is true of DMTC’s collaborations with all our partners from across industry and government.”
First established in 2008 under the Australian government’s Defence Future Capability Technology Centre Program, DMTC's role in the Defence innovation system, specifically through the Defence Innovation Hub, was confirmed and extended through the 2016 Defence Industry Policy Statement.
The news also follows shortly after a $1.87 million investment from the Australian Department of Health into the DMTC Medical Countermeasures (MCM) Initiative, which looks to develop a novel query fever vaccine.
