Australia will inject A$6.6m ($4.45m) in three domestic drone manufacturers in an effort to cultivate a sovereign industrial base for a military system that is gaining traction around the world.
Contracts were signed with AMSL Aero, Boresight and Grabba Technologies after a ‘fly-off’ demonstration proved the performance of their offerings in April this year. Each company was provided A$2.2m each to convert their prototypes to a production standard and produce 100 general purpose systems.
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Already, government funds have supported the development of AMSL’s zero-emission Vertiia electric take-off and landing (eVOTL) vehicle since February this year in order to combat bushfires. Likewise, Boresight provides commercial drone capabilities – quadcopters and swarming concepts – to Australian government agencies.
This ‘Sovereign UAS Challenge’ was the first initiative that the government-run Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator (ASCA) launched, whereby its signals to industry its ability to deliver a more agile, accelerated process to advance innovation for the Australian Defence Force.
Australia aims to cultivate a sovereign industrial base for uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) according to a statement issued on 21 August 2024. It is believed that a drone manufacturing capability will resolve security and supply chain risks associated with some commercial systems. It will also allow Defence and other government agencies to reap the benefits of scale by achieving higher volumes at lowers costs than currently available.
“ASCA has worked closely with Industry to achieve a desired capability in a short time, proving that we can build a valuable sovereign base if we work together,” said Professor Emily Hilder, head of ASCA.
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By GlobalDataGlobal military UAS market demand
Global military demand for the plucky systems has grown as the world watches the asymmetric advantage of the systems playing out in the Russia-Ukraine war.
GlobalData Defence Analyst James Marques observed in an intelligence briefing that Ukraine’s forces “demonstrated a remarkable capacity to manufacture drones, particularly first-person-view variants, which are guided by a user wearing a virtual reality headset.
“Such munitions are used to devastating effect in frontline combat, often compensating for Ukraine’s near-constant shortfall in conventional artillery ammunition.”
Demand is reflected in the figures too as the global military UAS market is valued at $12.2bn in 2024 and GlobalData intelligence projects this to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 6.0% over the next tens years. It is expected to reach $21.9bn by 2034 and cumulatively value $190.8bn over the forecast period.
Western nations such as the UK have even laid out inaugural Drone Strategies to leverage the emerging technology to its maximal utility. Around £4.5bn ($5.9bn) has been mobilised toward this end.
