Lockheed to build R&D lab in Melbourne
Lockheed Martin has confirmed that Melbourne, Australia, will be the location for its upcoming Science Technology Engineering Leadership and Research Laboratory (STELaR Lab).
The multi-disciplinary research and development (R&D) facility is being established to tackle future technology challenges. Over three years, the company will invest an initial AUD$13 million in the facility.
The lab will house the company's national R&D operations centre for its current Australian research portfolio, and undertake internal additional R&D programmes. Researchers are set to explore several fields including command, control, communications, computing, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, as well as robotics, autonomy and hypersonics.
The new STELaR Lab is scheduled to open in early 2017, located between the RMIT University and University of Melbourne.
Keoki Jackson, chief technology officer of Lockheed Martin, said: 'The decision to establish a multi-disciplinary R&D facility in Australia was partly based on Lockheed Martin's own track record of research and development success with Australia's Defence Science and Technology Group and Australian universities over the last 20 years.'
More from Defence Notes
-
![Why small guns have been critical to layered CUAS architectures]()
Why small guns have been critical to layered CUAS architectures
Multiple countries have been deploying small arms as the last line of drone defence due to their multiple operational and tactical advantages.
-
![Singapore Airshow 2026: ST Engineering hints at export success for AME assault rifle family]()
Singapore Airshow 2026: ST Engineering hints at export success for AME assault rifle family
The Singapore-based technology company unveiled its new rifle family at this week’s airshow. Chen Chuanren spoke with the ST Engineering’s head of small arms to find out more about how the weapons have been refined.
-
![High tension in the High North – a wake-up call for NATO’s future Arctic defence efforts?]()
High tension in the High North – a wake-up call for NATO’s future Arctic defence efforts?
Any potential ‘Arctic Sentry’ mission would be months in the planning, but with tensions high in the region given the US’s push for Greenland, NATO countries will need to continue to emphasise their commitment to the region, analysts have said.
-
![Venezuela prepares personnel and equipment for a potential second US attack]()
Venezuela prepares personnel and equipment for a potential second US attack
Defence Minister Gen Vladimir Padrino López has declared that the Venezuelan armed forces “will continue to employ all its available capabilities for military defence”.
-
![As the new year starts, the UK defence spending delay continues]()
As the new year starts, the UK defence spending delay continues
The UK’s defence spending commitments remain uncertain as the government’s Defence Investment Plan, which had been due by the end of 2025, is yet to be published.
