While much of the focus for sovereign industrial capabilities has been for Defence’s big-ticket items, uncrewed and autonomous systems are emerging as a key sector for continued growth.
On this Defence Connect podcast, host Phil Tarrant is joined by Jack Kormas, managing director of Textron Systems Australia, as they discuss the evolving realm of uncrewed and autonomous systems (UAS), specifically LAND 129 Phase 3.
Kormas and Tarrant discuss Textron Systems Australia’s status as a “homegrown business” stemming back to 1995 as Aerosonde and the storied history the company has of not only supporting sovereign industrial capabilities for the ADF, but also as a global leader in innovation.
The pair deep-dive into the company’s history of leading-edge UAS capabilities, which originally attracted Textron’s acquisition of Aerosonde and the opportunity it has presented to the Australian supply chain.
Finally, Kormas and Tarrant discuss the variants of the Aerosonde UAS platform, which is designed to support “small footprint” expeditionary land and sea-based operations capable of multi-role operations, key capabilities pursued by the ADF.
Enjoy the podcast,
The Defence Connect team
Listen to previous episodes of the Defence Connect podcast:
Episode 322: PODCAST: 45 Days – The Fight For A Nation, with Emile Ghessen
Episode 321: PODCAST: News wrap – Chapter closed: Subs program turns new page
Episode 320: SPOTLIGHT: Revolutionising the space domain, with Lockheed Martin Australia and Inovor Technologies
Episode 319: PODCAST: Supporting defence businesses, with DSTG’s Nigel McGinty and Robert Hunjet
Episode 318: PODCAST: Digitising the ADF for better and safer training, with Shane Acorn and Daniel Pace
Episode 317: PODCAST: An uncertain world, with MAJGEN (Ret’d) Mick Ryan
Episode 316: PODCAST: The worsening geostrategic environment
Episode 315: PODCAST: News wrap – Strengthening maritime capability
Episode 314: SPOTLIGHT: Unpacking the Aegis combat weapons system, with Lockheed Martin Australia’s Neale Prescott and Rob Milligan
Episode 313: PODCAST: Building a regional maritime hub, with Babcock’s Brad Yelland