Defence Trailblazer: Concept to sovereign capability
The Defence Trailblazer: Concept to Sovereign Capability (CSC) bid led by the University of Adelaide in partnership with the University of New South Wales, was endorsed on Wednesday 20 April 2022 to assist the country’s economic recovery under its Trailblazer Universities Program.
CSC is one of only four successful bids under the program.
The bid focusses on research commercialisation that will solidify Australia’s sovereign defence capability over the next four years of the program for longer term economic growth over the next decade and beyond. Defence is one of the Federal Government’s six national manufacturing priority areas.
A government commitment of $50 million in cash over four years will be matched by $50 million of funding from the two universities. More than $140 million will be invested in the project by over 50 industry partners located around the country bringing the total value of the program to approximately $250 million. The project will also work closely with Australia's national science agency, CSIRO, to access their specialist equipment.
This support will be leveraged to produce high-quality research, design and development outcomes and will form the basis of CSC’s commercialisation output to deliver new technologies for Australia’s Defence industry and dual-use market opportunities.
The total value of the Defence Trailblazer: Concept to Sovereign Capability (CSC) bid is $250 million.
In partnership with industry, the Universities have secured investment and commitments to integrate emerging technologies and scale manufacturing supporting the Australian Defence Force (ADF) capability priorities in the areas of:
- Quantum Materials, Technologies and Computing
- Defensive Hypersonics and Countermeasures
- Information Warfare and Advanced Cyber Technologies
- Robotics, Autonomous Systems and AI (RAS-AI)
- Defence Space Technologies
Industry partners include some of the most innovative and emerging defence companies in Australia. SME defence companies, some of which are located in regional Australia, make up over 80 per cent of the committed industry funding. This unprecedented level of commitment to CSC from SMEs, underlines the potential to upscale Australia’s sovereign defence capability.
Find out more
For more information on Defence Trailblazer: Concept to Sovereign Capability please contact:
Dr Stephen Rodda,
Chief Innovation & Commercialisation Officer at the University of Adelaide and bid-lead for the project
M: +61 403 369 591
E: stephen.rodda@adelaide.edu.au
