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Opinion: The Australian government has made its position clear – land tactical radios are a sovereign priority.
Under the 2026 Defence Industry Development Strategy (DIDS26), they sit within Sovereign Defence Industrial Priority 6 as a capability for Australian design, manufacture and sustainment.
On paper, this answers a longstanding industry call. However, as Land Forces approaches, validation is mixed with impatience. The direction is right. The question is whether procurement is aligned and can keep pace.
Why tactical radios moved to the front of the line
For soldiers on the ground, communications are essential. They underpin situational awareness, fire coordination, medical evacuation and the delivery of command intent.
In a contested battlespace, electronic warfare, cyber effects and physical disruption can bring networks down within minutes.
Losing the ability to communicate, share data or track friendly forces quickly erodes the tactical advantage needed to prevail. The Army’s ability to sustain that advantage depends on assured access to tactical communications systems and the capacity to manufacture and maintain them.
This is why DIDS26 lists “Land Tactical Radios” alongside battle management systems, multi-mission radars and tactical satellite terminals as core industrial priorities underpinning Australia’s sovereign electronics and C4 capability.
For industry, their inclusion recognises the risks Australia faces and calls on local companies to step up. Reliance on imported radios, waveforms and support can become a major vulnerability in a crisis. Delays in accessing overseas parts, upgrades or approvals carry both operational and commercial consequences.
The strategy gives Australian firms a pathway from supplying components to integrating complete tactical communications solutions. It also signals to Defence and military leaders that Australian sovereign industrial outcomes should be a priority when land tactical radio capabilities are scoped for government decision and acquisition.
The challenge now is to turn that ambition into contracts, work packages and delivery timelines that businesses can invest in.
What resilient communications mean in practice
“Resilient communications” can sound like another piece of Defence jargon. Put simply, they keep soldiers connected while an adversary is actively trying to disrupt them.
That requires radios that can operate in contested radio-frequency spectrum, withstand jamming, change frequency dynamically, hide in the noise floor and minimise their emissions signature. It also requires systems that keep critical information moving securely, whether that is voice traffic or data on location, command and control, targeting and intelligence.
Resilience extends beyond the radio itself. Australia needs the capacity to manufacture these systems, access spare parts locally, update software and waveforms, and repair equipment without relying on overseas approval chains. In a crisis, waiting months for a foreign supplier to approve an update or return repaired equipment is unsustainable.
Australian industry already has many of the required skills. Local businesses have supported major communications programs and built expertise in radios, RF systems, antennas, software and networking.
If put into practice, DIDS26 could help these companies grow from specialist suppliers into system-level partners.
But growth requires confidence. Businesses need stable requirements that protect years of design work and give them the certainty to invest in factory tooling for sustained production. They need contracting models that recognise the long-term value of Australian design and manufacture alongside the upfront price. Above all, they need a steady pipeline of work.
Without that certainty, companies will hedge their bets. They will keep specialist teams small, delay investment in facilities and pursue more predictable opportunities in commercial or export markets.
Those decisions make sense for individual businesses but work against the sovereign industrial base the strategy seeks to build.
The capability Australia can build
The ambition across industry is clear. Australian companies want to be recognised as designers and technology partners, rather than builders of imported systems or local installers. They want to own designs, build systems, develop waveforms and support equipment throughout its working life.
Delivering that capability requires collaboration. Modern tactical communications bring together radio-frequency engineering, software, cyber security, antennas, networking and systems integration.
Australian firms have shown they can work together through Army-sponsored programs such as C4 Edge. That experience demonstrates the potential for local industry to deliver complete capabilities for programs such as LAND 4140 Tactical Edge Radio.
There is also an opportunity beyond Australia. If Australian firms can prove their tactical communications systems in demanding local conditions, they can build an export proposition for AUKUS partners and other allies. Delivering on DIDS26 priorities at home could lay the groundwork for exports, bringing broader benefits through jobs, skills, national autonomy and future innovation.
Exports are particularly valuable in a sector with long procurement cycles and uneven domestic demand.
They can provide the scale needed to sustain Australian production, research and specialist jobs over time.
A consistent message runs through all of this: industry wants to be treated as a long-term capability partner, with a role in shaping requirements and developing architectures before major decisions are finalised. To invest with confidence, companies also need a clear and sustained demand signal from Defence.
What needs to change
If the DIDS26 priority is to translate into better capability for soldiers, several things need to change. First, programs such as LAND 4140 Tactical Edge Radio need to be treated as time-critical. Defence procurement takes longer than consumer technology development, but years of uncertainty come at a cost. Skilled workers leave; investment stalls and technology moves on.
Phased contracts could allow early production while later upgrades are refined. Clear decision points would give industry the confidence to retain staff and commit capital. Defence may also need to accept an effective solution that can evolve, rather than wait for a perfect end state that arrives too late.
Second, DIDS26 needs practical measures of sovereignty. For tactical radios, these could cover how much hardware is designed and manufactured locally, whether waveform and networking software can be maintained in Australia, and how much through-life support is delivered onshore. Clear measures can preserve competition while guiding investment.
Third, local industry must be involved in both design and manufacture. The strategic value lies in being able to modify waveforms, integrate new security tools and respond to emerging threats on Australian terms. That requires Australian engineers at the table from the outset.
Manufacturers and production engineers also need to be engaged early. Factories, tooling, test systems, production processes and skilled technicians cannot be put in place at the flick of a switch. If the DIDS26 priority for Land Tactical Radios is to be realised, manufacturing capability must be developed from the earliest stages of Defence’s next radio program.
Finally, businesses need visibility beyond the first order. Building specialist teams and production lines requires more than a broad statement of intent. Defence should provide a high-level roadmap covering future upgrades, platform integration and potential pathways through AUKUS Pillar 2 and allied programs.
That predictability would give industry the confidence to make sensible, multi-year investments while preserving Defence’s flexibility.
The opportunity Land Forces exposes
Land Forces is both a product showcase and a measure of industry readiness. This year, conversations will centre on how quickly Australia can deliver sovereign tactical radios, and on what terms.
The strategy has identified the priority and set out the industrial logic. The harder task now is turning policy into contracts, production lines and, ultimately, radios that keep soldiers connected when the spectrum is contested.
Industry is ready to play its part. In return, it needs procurement pace, policy follow-through and a genuine partnership with government.
With that alignment, Australia can build an industrial base capable of delivering, sustaining and improving resilient land communications when they are needed most.
Christopher Rule is the General Manager – Defence at GME.
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