Australian government looks to grow sovereign capabilities
The Australian government has released the first two Sovereign Industrial Capability Priority Implementation Plans to Australian industry.
The plans provide information and set key priorities on how the Australian government aims to work with the defence industry to build and grow sovereign industrial capabilities.
The areas covered include munitions and small arms research, design, development and manufacture, combat clothing survivability and signature reduction technologies.
Melissa Price, Minister for Defence Industry, said: ‘[The plans] provide a useful roadmap to help current and aspiring defence industry businesses understand the capability priorities of the Australian Defence Force, now and into the future.
‘Giving small business the tools and support they need to be involved in our defence industry, and grow their businesses to the point they’re ready to enter global markets is my number one priority.’
More from Defence Notes
-
Rheinmetall sales up by almost a quarter on wave of German spending
Germany’s Rheinmetall released its 1H 2025 results on 7 August, continuing the strong growth of recent years. A particular highlight of the result’s presentation was the Skyranger air defence system for which the company is predicting sales of about US$8.2 billion from the German Government before the end of the year.
-
Defence companies continue to ride procurement wave
Vehicle and technology companies are reporting substantial growth compared to the first half of 2024. Italy’s Fincantieri saw revenues jump 24% for the first half of the year compared to 2024 and Thales up 6.8% for the same period. General Dynamics reported second quarter revenue growth of 8.9% for the second quarter compared to last year and MilDef reported organic order intake growth of 58%.
-
Singapore plots a way forward with new technology and formation reform
Singapore spends about 3.5% of GDP on defence and the section’s budget sits on high on the proportion of national spending. The country is investing in uncrewed technology, medium- and long-range fires and new submarines and ships with the hunt also on for new maritime patrol aircraft.
-
World Defense Show promises bigger and better event for 2026
At this year's IDEF in Istanbul, Shephard spoke to World Defense Show (WDS) CEO Andrew Pearcey about his event's strategic role in Saudi Arabia, its themes and new features for 2026 and how it has grown since its launch in 2022.