come october, page-15

I personally think it would come from the CTD program or perhaps something like this that was posted on Mr Combet's website today!

http://www.minister.defence.gov.au/gregCombettpl.cfm?CurrentId=9597

rAPID pROTOTYPING dEVELOPMENT and evaluation program continues to attract the best from industry and academia



Greg Combet, Minister for Defence Personnel, Materiel and Science, today announced that 54 companies, academic institutions and government agencies have been selected to join the Rapid Prototyping Development and Evaluation Program (RPDE).



“RPDE, or ‘Rapid’, is a collaborative venture that was established to help Defence resolve difficult and challenging problems,” said Mr Combet.



“After four and a half years of operation, Rapid continues to break new ground in the area of Government to private sector cooperation and collaboration. The program is focused on developing solutions to issues that hold back the ADF’s capability to effectively and safely undertake operations.



“It is an immensely popular program within industry and academia, which can be seen by these 54 new recruits who will join 135 of their peers.



“Rapid now has a pool of 189 companies, universities and government agencies from which it can source the intellectual horsepower necessary to address some of the most complex and diverse problems faced by Defence.”



RPDE is unique in its structure and operations and the latest intake will add to the already impressive list of Australia’s leading organisations who undertake research and development in this country.



“All organisations who join the program must meet two key criteria. Number one is that they are Australian companies, and secondly that they undertake ongoing research and development as part of their core operations,” said Mr Combet.



“The Rapid Program continues to deliver answers for Defence, including providing solutions to keep our ADF members safe. It also helps further enhance the relationships between Defence and the industry base that supports it.



“I would like to offer my congratulations to the new RPDE Associates on successfully qualifying for this important program.”



A full list of companies now supporting the RPDE program can be found at http://www.rpde