Australia Military News, Reports, Data, etc.
- Thread starter lych470
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In short:
The cost of expanding Papua New Guinea's Lombrum naval base has more than doubled from the original $175 million price tag flagged by the federal government. Defence Minister Richard Marles revealed the cost blowout after joining PNG's Prime Minister James Marape at a rain-soaked ceremony on Manus Island. The high-profile project has been hit with delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic and disputes with local landowners.Another jobs for mates program, surely.
NRF takes $10m stake in scramjet engine startup
Hypersonix Launch Systems, a Brisbane-based aerospace startup developing a hydrogen-fuelled scramjet engine capable of reaching speeds of Mach 7, has secured a $10 million equity investment from the National Reconstruction Fund.
The investment — the fund’s first in the defence sector –is part of a $46 million Series A funding round led by UK dual-use tech investor High Tor Capital with Saab, the Queensland Investment Corporation and RKKVC, a Polish family office.
Hypersonix will use the funding to further develop its 3D-printed, reusable SPARTAN scramjet engine, which is scheduled for testing with the US military and NASA later this year aboard the company’s DART launch system.
Michael Smart, who developed the technology at the University of Queensland before co-founding the company with David Waterhouse in 2019, said the sovereign platform was a “breakthrough in reusable hypersonic flight”.
The company will also establish advanced manufacturing capabilities in Queensland, where it currently employs 45 people across roles like aerospace engineering, advanced manufacturing and testing.
NRF chief executive David Gall said Australia has long been a global leader in hypersonic technology, making it an area of huge potential as the company looks to build sovereign defence capability.
“Investing in Hypersonix will help to boost Australia’s aerospace capabilities by creating highly skilled design, engineering, and manufacturing jobs in regional Queensland,” Mr Gall said on Tuesday.
Hypersonix chief executive Matt Hill said the raise was a “major milestone” for the company and that having “Australia’s sovereign investor in manufacturing capability behind such a critical strategic capability sends a powerful message”.
“It shows real confidence in our mission and highlights the importance of building clean, reusable aerospace systems that meet today’s national security needs while shaping tomorrow’s industry,” he said.
I've worked for non-software startups. Most of them have grandiose claims that can't and don't pass scrutiny without massaging the shit out of the data, gaming the hell out of the test conditions, and/or heavily cherry picking the data. High Tor Capital, Saab, the Queensland Investment Corporation and RKKVC are probably just being played as suckers.NRF takes $10m stake in scramjet engine startup
Hypersonix Launch Systems, a Brisbane-based aerospace startup developing a hydrogen-fuelled scramjet engine capable of reaching speeds of Mach 7, has secured a $10 million equity investment from the National Reconstruction Fund.
The investment — the fund’s first in the defence sector –is part of a $46 million Series A funding round led by UK dual-use tech investor High Tor Capital with Saab, the Queensland Investment Corporation and RKKVC, a Polish family office.
Hypersonix will use the funding to further develop its 3D-printed, reusable SPARTAN scramjet engine, which is scheduled for testing with the US military and NASA later this year aboard the company’s DART launch system.
Hypersonix CEO Matt Hill and co-founder, CTO, head of engineering Michael Smart. Image: Supplied
Michael Smart, who developed the technology at the University of Queensland before co-founding the company with David Waterhouse in 2019, said the sovereign platform was a “breakthrough in reusable hypersonic flight”.
The company will also establish advanced manufacturing capabilities in Queensland, where it currently employs 45 people across roles like aerospace engineering, advanced manufacturing and testing.
NRF chief executive David Gall said Australia has long been a global leader in hypersonic technology, making it an area of huge potential as the company looks to build sovereign defence capability.
“Investing in Hypersonix will help to boost Australia’s aerospace capabilities by creating highly skilled design, engineering, and manufacturing jobs in regional Queensland,” Mr Gall said on Tuesday.
Hypersonix chief executive Matt Hill said the raise was a “major milestone” for the company and that having “Australia’s sovereign investor in manufacturing capability behind such a critical strategic capability sends a powerful message”.
“It shows real confidence in our mission and highlights the importance of building clean, reusable aerospace systems that meet today’s national security needs while shaping tomorrow’s industry,” he said.
In this case, my bet would be that they're not actually reusable. They will bring the used ones back in and replace them with new ones, pretending they've been refurbished, when they're actually just entirely new or have had many parts swapped out. By the time anyone figures this out, they'll have already minted some new hundred-millionaires or billionaires who are laughing their way to the bank.
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In short:
Peter Williams, an Australian cybersecurity executive living in the US, has pleaded guilty to selling trade secrets to a Russian broker.His plea drew a savage response from the US government amid claims he betrayed the country and its allies.
What's next?
Williams faces a sentencing hearing on January 27, but his lawyer has told the ABC the Australian is "going to get a custodial sentence".Australia being a vassal, again.
Defence manufacturer ASDAM secures $150m NRF loan
The federal government’s $15 billion industry fund has made its biggest defence bet yet, approving a $150 million loan to Australia’s leading F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Program supplier.
The new debt investment in Australian Sovereign Defence and Advanced Manufacturing is part of a broader $400 million financing package to refinance existing debt and fund growth.
ASDAM, which is majority-owned by funds managed by CPE Capital, will use the loan to expand its production capacity across 12 Australian sites and create around 340 new manufacturing jobs over the next three years.
The National Reconstruction Fund Corporation revealed the debt investment in ASDAM without fanfare on Friday, just hours after announcing that it was taking a .
The NRFC said the loan– only its — would support the government’s objective of strengthening Australia’s defence industrial base and reducing reliance on imported equipment.
“During uncertain times it is vital that Australia builds sovereign capability when it comes to manufacturing key defence equipment, and ASDAM has demonstrated an ability to grow and compete on a global scale in these areas,” NRFC chief executive David Gall said.
ASDAM describes itself as the country’s largest supplier to the Joint Strike Fighter Program, the United States-led effort that has delivered 72 F-35A Lightning II aircraft to the Royal Australian Air Force since 2018.
The company, which also services a number of other defence and non-defence programs, currently employs about 1,000 people across design, engineering, production and maintenance.
The ASDAM debt investment is among only a handful of loans issued since the NRFC was established in September 2023. Other loans include .
The National Reconstruction Fund was established with $15 billion to invest in debt and equity across seven priority areas, such as medical science, defence capability and enabling capabilities such as critical technologies.
According to the NRFC’s investment guidance, investments must work to deliver policy outcomes, including “crowding-in private finance” and “growing or improving Australia’s industrial capability”.