Overview
Defence industry plays a vital role in equipping, sustaining and advancing the capabilities of the ADF.
A strong defence industry is part of our national power and contributes to regional stability.
The 2024 Defence Industry Development Strategy established the framework and principles for an Australian defence industrial base that is:
- capable of delivering the capacity, size and scale needed to meet Defence’s needs with the agility to rapidly scale;
- resilient to disruptions beyond our control, by strengthening our network of supply chains;
- competitive, by providing the systems, technologies, materials, services and products Defence needs to support its mission; and
- innovative, by maintaining a technological edge and developing the asymmetric technologies needed by Defence.
The ADF understands the value of Australia’s sovereign defence industrial base and seeks to work together with industry to meet our national security requirements.
Australia is becoming a more significant player in the space domain, focusing on developing sovereign capabilities, fostering a robust space industry, and enhancing space domain awareness, while also leveraging partnerships for access to advanced technologies and expertise.
The National Defence Strategy highlights Space capabilities that enhance intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, provide resilient communications and counter emerging space threats as a priority through:
- continued investment in Australia’s first sovereign-controlled satellite communications system, enhancing ADF communications in the Pacific and
Indian Ocean regions; - the Deep-space Advanced Radar Capability, which is a collaborative project with the UK and US, providing greater situational awareness in space;
investment in geospatial intelligence capabilities; and - investment in space control capabilities, providing the Government with options to assure Australia’s access to space.