Defence industry without a shadow

At the time of writing Defence Industry was without a Shadow Minister after Opposition Leader Sussan Ley dumped Senator Nampijinpa Price from the frontbench. The highly regarded Senator Price was finding her feet in the new portfolio and had begun publicly championing the cause of the SME sector and sovereignty. Ms Ley acted after Senator Price repeatedly declined to support her leadership. The saga was triggered after Senator Price made comments about Indian migrants being favoured by Labor because it shored up the party’s electoral support. With more than two million Australians now believed to share Indian heritage, some in the Liberal Party believed it could ill-afford to put off such a large voting bloc given the extent of Labor’s 2025 election landslide. Senator Price expressed regret for her comments and insisted they had been taken out of context but did not apologise. Fortunately, the senior shadow in the portfolio Angus Taylor has remained active again this week criticising the number of defence bu

Ghost Shark a boon for Australian firms

The Australian Industry and Defence Network (AIDN) has welcomed the Albanese Government $1.7 billion acquisition of the Ghost Shark extra-large autonomous undersea vehicle for the Royal Australian Navy. The innovative platform is designed to conduct intelligence, surveillance reconnaissance and strike operations, stealthily and at long range. It will deliver a significant boost to Australia’s undersea warfare capabilities. Defence has signed a contract with Anduril Australia for the delivery, maintenance, and continued development of the Ghost Shark over the next five years. AIDN CEO Mike Johnson said the contract would continue to provide competitive opportunities for Australian industry. More than 40 Australian companies are involved in the Ghost Shark supply chain. Mr Johnson said the injection of funds into this project would not only enhance Australia’s defensive capabilities but also create second and third tier economic benefits for related and supporting businesses involved in the project. Defence no– with three prototypes delivered on budget and on schedule. He said the investment would back in 120 existing jobs and create more than 150 highly skilled jobs.

SYPAQ unveils new drone at DSEI

SYPAQ Systems has unveiled a new export-ready drone to the international market at DSEI London 2025. CorvoX is a next generation military grade SUAS, featuring an innovative, thrust vectored Vertical Take Off and Landing configuration that delivers class leading endurance in extreme weather conditions. The lightweight, man packable system, coupled with advanced autonomy, payload, and encrypted mesh network capabilities, reduces the physical and cognitive load on the operator, enhancing mission safety, flexibility, and performance. Chairman of SYPAQ Systems David Vicino said CorvoX would be export ready from 2026, and the firm was excited to bring the game-changing capability to allies and partners and showcase the strength of the Australian Defence Industry. He said CorvoX continued SYPAQ’s export ready family of sovereign SUAS, starting with the successful delivery of the Precision Payload Delivery System (PPDS) ‘Cardboard Drone,’ which had been successfully exported to a range of European countries for ope

Downer $3 billion Estate services contract a win for SME’s

Downer has won a contract to deliver base and estate services to the Australian Department of Defence (Defence), valued at approximately $3.05 billion over an initial term of six years. The deal will also benefit more than 900 plus small and medium enterprises. The Property and Asset Services (PAS) contract, part of Defence’s Base Services Transformation program, commences in February 2026. The initial term runs until 2032, with two extension options of between one to three years each. A maximum term contract could see Downer delivering PAS for a total of 10 years. Under the new contract, Downer will provide base and estate facilities maintenance operations, aerodrome operations, land management, training area and range management, and integration services across the combined New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory region, and Queensland region. Downer Group Chief Executive Peter Tompkins said the firm had been providing Defence with sustainment, infrastructure, and estate services for more than 80

China attacks allies talks

Fresh from its historic military parade, China has criticised Australia and Japan for staging a Foreign and Defence Ministers meeting which made routine statements about Taiwan and maintaining stability in the Indo-Pacific. The statement was issued following a meeting between Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong and Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles who met with their counterparts, Japan’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, H.E Iwaya Takeshi, and Minister of Defense, H.E. Nakatani Gen. The missive from the China Daily thundered that Australia and Japan were ‘‘parroting the hackneyed China-targeted phrases from the playbook of the United States.” It went on to say the statement was wrong and sought to provoke China in areas of its core interests and reneged on long held positions on the recognition of Taiwan and part of China. This column understands there has been no change in policy towards Taiwan from either Australia or Japan. Watch this space for Beijing’s reaction if Australia should increase Defence spending.