Defence awards two AUKUS Innovation Challenge contracts

Defence has awarded contracts worth more than $8 million to two Australian Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to develop Electronic Warfare (EW) technology under the AUKUS Innovation Challenge program.

Defence has announced Canberra-based Advanced Design Technology (ADT) and Penten have signed contracts with the Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator (ASCA), following successful participation in the first AUKUS Innovation Challenge, which was designed to produce critical capabilities for all three AUKUS nations. A third company, Adelaide-based Inovor Technologies, also successfully developed an undisclosed EW capability under the Challenge but has not been awarded a contract as yet.

The AUKUS Innovation Challenge was run to find low cost, disposable, high volume and highly autonomous electromagnetic technology that can detect enemy actions or protect against them, according to the UK Ministry of Defence (UK MoD). It called for proposals to identify Electromagnetic Spectrum (EMS) technology solutions to help give the AUKUS nations a strategic edge in targeting and to provide protection against adversarial electromagnetic-targeting capabilities.

Penten is delivering a  development of its man-portable TrapRadio device – Next Generation Electronic Development (NGED). It uses AI-powered electronic deception technology to provide a multi-spectral, multi-domain electronic deception capability for the ADF. Penten’s electronic deception technology has also won the UK component of the same AUKUS challenge, the company says. The UK’s Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) has selected Penten’s long-standing partners Amiosec to deliver an electronic deception capability powered by this common technology core. Fellow Canberra company ADT is a consultant and designer of complex electronic and EW equipment.

“I look forward to seeing the cutting-edge capabilities ADT and Penten will deliver for the Australian Defence Force and AUKUS to secure a competitive advantage and deter potential threats to regional security,” said Pat Conroy, Minister for Defence Industry and Capability Delivery. “The AUKUS Innovation Challenge Series is a powerful example of how ASCA is accelerating advanced capabilities for our ADF while ensuring local innovators are at the forefront of Australia’s growing sovereign industrial base.”

The contracts will provide critical financial support to the two companies to continue their work while also securing more than 150 local jobs, said Defence in a statement. This funding will assist the development and demonstration of EW prototypes that address ADF needs and show the important contribution that Australian industry is making in developing advanced EW capabilities, including as part of AUKUS Pillar II, Defence added.

These capabilities will allow joint AUKUS forces to generate superior Situational Awareness (SA) and communicate effectively across all domains in contested environments, even when an adversary might attempt to prevent SA or block timely command and control capability, Defence said.