thanks Bombrat - just posted article from FR below as link was a bit tricky. Hopefully it is not just words and we see support for our local Defence industry. I thought the following words were all too familiar "feedback from industry, which has complained that insufficient work is flowing through to local firms."
Weapons plan to keep local ship, drone and ammo makers in business (Feb 28,2024)Defence will become more interventionist to shield military contractors from boom-bust spending cycles as part of moves to ensure key industries including shipbuilding, local production of guided weapons and munitions and development of autonomous systems can be preserved domestically.The government will also unveil changes to procurement processes, promising to speed up acquisitions of new weapons and other military equipment. Grant funding will also be significantly boosted to help support companies develop projects and boost their manufacturing capacity.
Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy will release the Defence Industry Development Strategy on Thursday, the next plank in the Albanese government’s agenda to overhaul defence in light of rising strategic tensions in the Indo-Pacific as China continues to militarise.The new strategy defines the strategic rationale for a sovereign defence industrial base, outlining ways to maximise support for Australian industry and its contribution to national security.The document articulates the defence industrial base required to address the evolving strategic environment.
As part of the changes, the former government’s 14 Sovereign Industrial Capability Priorities will be halved and replaced with seven Sovereign Defence Industrial Priorities, or SDIPs.These new priorities include continuous naval shipbuilding and sustainment, domestic manufacture of guided weapons, explosive ordnance and munitions and the development and integration of autonomous systems.In a key change, the new priorities will include timelines for when the government expects them to be delivered to the military.To end the so-called valley of death facing defence contractors – which often puts firms under pressure to shed jobs when defence contracts come to an end without new work coming on stream – Mr Conroy is also promising Defence and the government will be more active in managing its Integrated Investment Program to preserve industrial capability locally.That will see Defence make much more overt commitments to not only purchasing equipment but also the means to sustain it, offering firms greater certainty. The IIP is Defence’s 10-year schedule for new equipment acquisitions.Defence may also make more bulk buys of equipment, rather than one-off purchases. For example, if Defence needs a particular capability that could be used across multiple weapons platforms or services, such as radar systems, it will purchase them at once rather than buying equipment on a project-by-project basis.The government and Defence will also become more active in picking strategic partners to provide capability sooner, rather than conducting tender processes that can take a year or more to select a winning bidder.This will see officials identify suitable companies at the start of a project to work with.The changes are being introduced following feedback from industry, which has complained that insufficient work is flowing through to local firms.“Australia’s defence industry supports over 100,000 Australian jobs. It is an essential partner in keeping Australians safe at home, secure in the world and employed in well-paid, high-skill jobs,” Mr Conroy said.“We need to ensure that critical capabilities are provided to the men and women of the Australian Defence Force as soon as possible, while also supporting an industry vital to our national security.”
Expand
(20min delay)
