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The South Australian Minister for Defence and Space Industries, Stephen Mullighan, has announced $3 million worth of investments in the state’s defence innovation, as part of the Defence Innovation Partnership’s Activator Fund and Collaborative Research Fund.
Three groundbreaking defence innovation projects will share in a $2.4 million funding boost under the latest rounds of the state government’s Defence Innovation Partnership’s Activator Fund.
These initiatives aim to address some of the most pressing challenges facing the Australian Defence Force (ADF), enhancing the nation’s ability to leverage cutting-edge technology and expertise to protect national security.
The Activator Fund is designed to fast-track large-scale research and development, accelerating the transition of emerging technology into operational Defence capabilities.
South Australian Minister for Defence and Space Industries Stephen Mullighan said, “This $2.4 million investment demonstrates the Malinauskas Labor government’s commitment to fostering innovation and advancing Australia’s Defence capabilities. The Activator Fund is critical to enabling collaboration between academia, industry, and Defence to solve real-world challenges facing our Defence Forces.”
This aligns with Australia’s Defence priorities and the 2024 National Defence Strategy, ensuring the ADF remains at the forefront of technological advancements, with the three programs, including part of round three of the Activator Fund, with $1.6 million awarded to Fleet Space Technologies and its partners for the Sensor-based Environmental sense-making Network for Threat Response and Information (SENTRI) project.
Matt Pearson, co-founder and chief exploration officer of Fleet Space Technologies, welcomed this investment, saying, “With the SENTRI project, Fleet Space’s high-performance, low-Earth orbit SATCOM solutions continue to unlock new capabilities – providing rapid, resilient and sovereign communication networks for Defence.”
This cutting-edge initiative will transform how Defence gathers and utilises intelligence, combining advanced sensor technology with satellite networks to deliver real-time, high-reliability data across diverse environments.
Beyond its military applications, SENTRI has significant potential in disaster response, border security and even commercial sectors such as agriculture and mining.
"Fleet Space’s breakthrough Centauri satellite network, integrated with advanced sensor networks, paves the way for real-time, actionable defence intelligence needed for threat detection, disaster response, and border protection on a continental scale,” Pearson added.
Additional funding, worth $400,000 for each program, has been awarded to two separate programs focusing on understanding and countering influence, a crucial theme in today’s digitally driven geopolitical landscape, with both projects led by the University of Adelaide, with specific focus on:
- Mapping Pacific networks – led by the University of Adelaide, this project, in collaboration with Consunet and the Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG), aims to enhance Australia’s engagement in the Pacific by mapping regional networks and influence.
- Understanding and countering online influence – also led by the University of Adelaide, with Flinders University and Fivecast as partners, this initiative will develop a model and prototype tool to help Defence understand the evolution of online communities and informal digital networks.
Both funding rounds were co-designed by the Defence Innovation Partnership and the DSTG to tackle key defence challenges, including regional influence, contested environments and agile command and control.
Meanwhile, four additional defence innovation projects have secured $150,000 each under round eight of the Defence Innovation Partnership’s Collaborative Research Fund (CRF). These initiatives, developed in collaboration with Defence, industry and academia, promise to deliver cutting-edge technologies while also driving economic benefits for South Australia.
Minister Mullighan detailed the importance of the Collaborative Research Fund, saying, “South Australia is at the forefront of defence innovation, and the projects funded under this latest round of the Collaborative Research Fund demonstrate the extraordinary talent and capabilities of our research institutions and industry partners.”
Among the successful projects is a Flinders University-led study that aims to enhance the efficiency of naval port operations by addressing biofilm accumulation – microorganisms like algae that attach to ships and docks.
The project seeks to develop an intelligent, predictive tool to model how quickly marine growth appears under different environmental conditions. This could reduce maintenance costs, improve vessel efficiency and minimise environmental impact.
The four projects awarded funding under round eight of the CRF are:
- Understanding environmental impacts on biofilm growth at key naval ports
- Lead: Flinders University
- Partners: University of South Australia, QUT, DSTG, Australian Naval Infrastructure
- Distributed multi-agent TEWA (Threat Evaluation and Weapons Assignment) algorithms for force-level battle management
- Lead: University of Adelaide
- Partners: Flinders University, DSTG
- Developing an underwater recharging station to extend the endurance and effectiveness of autonomous underwater vehicles
- Lead: Flinders University
- Partners: University of South Australia, DSTG, EfficientSee
- A simulation-based evaluation tool for critical infrastructure operations resilience (HDP-CIOR tool)
- Lead: Flinders University
- Partners: University of South Australia, Priori Analytica, DSTG
Dr Tamar Jamieson, postdoctoral research associate, ARC Training Centre for Biofilm Research and Innovation, Flinders University said, “I am delighted to have led a successful application with colleagues from the ARC Training Centre for Biofilm Research and Innovation at Flinders, with Dr Andrew Scardino (DSTG) and Professor Sophie Leterme (Flinders) and Dr Ehsan Arzhagi (QUT).”
The CRF provides targeted funding to support collaborative research and development activities. Applications are rigorously assessed on their alignment with Defence priorities, feasibility, and potential impact, ensuring resources are directed towards high-value innovation.
The Defence Innovation Partnership is a collaborative initiative between Defence SA, DSTG, and South Australia’s three public universities – the University of Adelaide, Flinders University, and University of South Australia. The partnership plays a key role in fostering research excellence and accelerating the delivery of advanced capabilities to the ADF.
As defence technology rapidly evolves and new security threats emerge, investments in research, innovation, and industry collaboration will be critical in maintaining Australia’s strategic advantage in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.
