3D printed USVs, magnetic signature reduction and police drones among IODS 2026 day one highlights

The event has attracted an international line-up of senior defence leaders, including Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles, incoming Chief of the Defence Force Vice Admiral Mark Hammond, United States Pacific Fleet commander Admiral Stephen Koehler and Australian astronaut Katherine Bennell-Pegg, attending the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre event from 26 to 28 May.

More than 250 companies from 12 nations will participate alongside more than 100 international and domestic delegations who are expected to attend the event.

Stealing the Show

Hyperion Systems and Greenroom Robotics are putting together a strong joint effort on day one to steal the show’s spotlight with the first 3D printed Uncrewed Surface Vessel created in the southern hemisphere.

The 4.6 metre ASTRA 460 USV was designed by WA marine architect Versatile Marine and is powered by Greenroom Robotics’ AI and autonomy software, manufactured in Henderson Western Australia by Hyperion Systems. It’s 3D printed using Large Format Additive Manufacturing (LFAM) and recycled polymer waste.

The project aims to show that next-generation vessels can be built faster, more affordably and with sovereign Australian capability. It was shown beside first public viewing of Hyperion’s deployable “factory in a box” TitanCell.

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Hyperion chief executive officer Josh Wigley said the vessel hull will be manufactured in approximately 40 hours using LFAM 3D printing, compared to at least 4-6 weeks using traditional boat-building methods.

“This dramatic reduction in production time highlights the transformative potential of additive manufacturing for rapid maritime capability and sovereign industrial resilience,” Mr Wigley said.

Greenroom Robotics co-founder and COO, Harry Hubbert said that Greenroom’s autonomy stack is ideally suited to Hyperion’s rapidly reconfigurable 3D printed USV platforms.

“In contested environments, the ability to quickly adapt a vessel to meet evolving mission requirements delivers a significant asymmetric advantage,” Mr Hubbert said.

“Hyperion’s 3D printed USVs can deliver almost real-time customisation to suit the specific operating context. In a matter of days, a vessel can be printed, autonomy enabled and on the water. This opens up endless possibilities for rapid, scalable and distributed maritime defence.”

The ASTRA 460 will be among the world’s first LFAM 3D-printed USVs and a larger 8m initial prototype is planned to be supplied to a European navy for use at a major naval exercise later in 2026. Subject to successfully completing a series of rigorous sea trials which will start later this month, the fully autonomous vessel will feature a top speed of approximately 40 knots, 180 to 200km range and multi-mission capability.

Unique Concept

Straight from the showroom floor, MagStealth captured our attention with an innovative engineering concept to create an oval magnetic field, pass a vehicle such as a submarine, warship or armoured land vehicles through the field and reportedly reduce its magnetic signature by 95 to 99 percent.

The company is reportedly looking for testing partners for project, which would run on the vehicles without needing them to be de-armed or de-crewed due to the low magnetic radiation levels.

It’s theorised that the de-magnitising process would provide land and sea units with a competitive military advantage with reduced magnetic signatures against seamines and other hazards; and that the process could be reapplied each year.

Up in the Clouds

In the air, the Zephyr High Altitude Platform Station caught our attention with news that the world-record keeping aircraft is looking for an AALTO Port launch and landing facility in the Northern Territory.

The solar-powered, infrared and high-resolution imaging platform currently holds a flight-time record of more than 67 days in the stratosphere, with plans to extend the current battery life of 90 days out to 200 days. The site is expected to be announced in 2027-2028.

Of Concern

The Western Australian Police Force is showcasing a new range of DJI aerial drones. You read that correctly, DJI drones. Readers would recall that the Australian government has previously banned the Australian Defence Force of any use of any DJI drones or products; due to national security concerns.

The new drones will focus on clearing indoor operations (visually clearing houses of danger), search and rescue using LIDAR and thermal imaging, stock counting using AI as well as public guidance with a speaker and lights.

The current drones are operated by handset, but are eventually planned to operate out of a ‘drone-in-a-box’ system atop individual police stations.

Robert Dougherty

Robert is a senior journalist who has previously worked for Seven West Media in Western Australia, as well as Fairfax Media and Australian Community Media in New South Wales. He has produced national headlines, photography and videography of emergency services, business, community, defence and government news across Australia. Robert graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, Majoring in Public Relations and Journalism at Curtin University, attended student exchange program with Fudan University and holds Tier 1 General Advice certification for Kaplan Professional. Reach out via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or via LinkedIn.