iscover
South Australian defence companies Praetorian Aeronautics and Zero Dawn have signed a memorandum of understanding to support development of a critical defence capability that will enhance air and missile defence systems in Australia and allied nations.
The signing follows a test exercise last week, where the companies successfully conducted ground-based blast testing of the Zero Dawn munition integrated within Australia, with Praetorian and Zero Dawn intending to export the capability in 2027 for Ukraine’s urgent operational demand.
The agreement will seek to integrate Zero Dawn’s locally manufactured munitions into Praetorian’s counter-unmanned aerial system, Arrow, which is designed to detect and intercept drones and other unmanned systems in contested environments.
Fully designed and manufactured in South Australia, the technology will advance the GWEO Enterprise, supporting sovereign manufacture and enhancing air and missile defence capabilities.
Signed by Praetorian Aeronautics founder and CEO Brett Hill and Zero Dawn CEO John Giffard, the MOU was witnessed by the Minister for Defence and Space Industries Chris Picton in Adelaide this week.
“Counter-autonomy is becoming one of the defining defence and industrial challenges globally, and we believe Australia should be building sovereign technology in this field, not simply importing it,” Hill said.
“Our partnership with Zero Dawn is another step in turning that technology base into a complete Australian industrial capability.
“Adelaide will remain our global headquarters, core engineering centre and design authority as we expand internationally, with the potential to create up to 60 additional manufacturing jobs here in South Australia.”
Under the MOU, the companies will work together to progress detailed integration, testing, certification, production and market development opportunities.
“This collaboration brings together complementary Australian technologies to create a more complete sovereign counter-autonomy capability,” Giffard said.
“Zero Dawn has developed modular warhead and fusing technologies designed to support modern autonomous systems, and working with Praetorian provides a clear pathway to integrate those technologies into a broader system architecture and show a clear, concise pathway to market.
“The objective is not simply a technical demonstration. We intend to work together through integration, qualification, certification and production readiness.”
Established in 2024, Praetorian employs 50 people and has attracted $15 million in capital to build its technology capability, with potential to create up to 60 new jobs as it expands its manufacturing operations in Adelaide.
Headquartered at Lot Fourteen, Zero Dawn is a 100 per cent Australian and veteran-owned defence company developing sovereign capability in munition design, manufacturing and energetics. The company expects to expand its research, development and manufacturing activities, creating at least 15 new technical positions in regional South Australia from 2027.
Want to see more stories from trusted news sources?
Make Defence Connect a preferred news source on Google.
Click here to add Defence Connect as a preferred news source.