South Australia’s Aerospace and Information Warfare Forum has been hailed a huge success, with the first-time event drawing key players from the state’s defence and space sectors to take advantage of opportunities on major Defence projects.  

The forum, held at the Adelaide Convention Centre on Wednesday 22 June, attracted more than 550 attendees across defence industry, the Australian Defence Force, government and academia to discuss the latest developments and supply chain opportunities in the aerospace and information warfare sector.

Keynote speakers from the Australian Department of Defence, the Office of Defence Industry Support, RAAF’s Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Transition Office, provided updates on projects at Edinburgh and discussed how industry can best position themselves to maximise business opportunities.

The exhibition hall was a thriving hub of activity, with 56 primes, SMEs, academic and industry associations showcasing their capabilities, products and services. South Australian-founded company Airspeeder turned heads with its flying electric vehicle. Manufactured in Adelaide by Alauda Aeronautics, Airspeeder is pushing the limits of Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing vehicles by spearheading a premium racing series for flying electric cars.

Leading engineers and the heads of defence companies Shoal Group, Silentium Defence and Quantx Labs, along with Sumen Rai, Director of the Defence Innovation Partnership, took to a panel to discuss pathways, approaches and challenges to Defence innovation.

The forum was also a platform for a number of key announcements, including:

• South Australia’s Defence Innovation Partnership officially launching Round 6 of the Collaborative Research Fund, with applications set to open on 11 July. Up to $150,000 will be available to support defence-relevant collaborative ventures.
• South Australian Electronic Warfare specialists DEWC Systems rebranding to Asension to provide a clear focus for the company’s cutting-edge products and capabilities.