EPE has been awarded the LAND154 Phase 2 contract, a capability program that will improve the Australian Defence Force’s joint counter-improvised explosive device response.
The Weapons Technical Intelligence (WTI) facilities are a series of deployable containers, consisting predominantly of specialist scientific laboratory equipment.
Being deployable means they can be transported and utilised on-scene, allowing for rapid assessment of weapons effects and explosive devices.
Similar facilities developed overseas have enabled the rapid deployment of counter-measures during operations to protect Australian Defence Force (ADF) and allied forces.
EPE’s LAND 154-2 Project Director, Keith Mollison, said: “Nova Systems is a true Australian success story. The partnership between EPE and Nova Systems creates an all-Australian team to optimise this capability, while further building specialist scientific, engineering and weapons technical intelligence expertise here in Australia.”
Nova Systems Chief Operating Officer, Steven Robinson, said: “This capability gives Australia a seat on the world stage, aligning with AUKUS and NATO partners to have a deployable WTI capability that improves interoperability and will save lives.
“As part of our partnership with EPE, Nova Systems will ensure the WTI labs are sustained and ready for deployment at a moment’s notice.
“EPE’s expertise in level 2 exploitation and specialist project management is complemented by Nova Systems’ world-leading engineering capability.
“Both companies are Australian-owned and veteran founded, together building enduring sovereign skills and capability, which makes for the perfect partnership to support the ADF.”
The five-year contract includes a long-term sustainment opportunity, with the labs based in Brisbane, Queensland and Edinburgh, South Australia.
Credit to Nova Systems News
Risk, danger and destruction have all been part of a day-to-day existence where he strove to save lives and restore normality.
LTCOL Modd will compete alongside 21 others as part of the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) Invictus Games team in Düsseldorf, Germany in September 2023.
In 2007 after spending 22-years in the British Army, LTCOL Modd and his family moved to New Zealand when he approached and asked to join the NZDF to be part of a project that would develop and introduce new Bomb Disposal Capabilities.
LTCOL Modd has defused thousands of Improvised Explosive Devices (IED’s), Unexploded Ordnance (UXO’S), and mines in all over the world, in over 20 different countries. His commitment to Bomb Disposal has seen him shot, blown up, broken bones, amongst many other injuries.
In 2002 he was awarded the George Medal for Gallantry by Her Majesty the Late Queen Elizabeth II, in 2021 he was awarded the New Zealand Distinguished Service Decoration (DSD) in the Queen’s Birthday Honours, he has also been awarded two United States of America Bravery awards, and three FBI commendations.
In 2009 he broke his neck, resulting in the need for multiple surgeries and a permanent fusion with titanium cervical implant. In 2011 he was severely injured in Afghanistan whilst serving with 1st New Zealand Special Air Service Regiment (1NZSAS). This incident required hospital treatments in Afghanistan, Germany, and Auckland before he was able to return to Wellington hospital and finally home.
“I was pretty banged up, fracturing my skull, rupturing my liver and breaking my back in three places, amongst other injuries, but all part of the job” he said.
He required a range of complex surgeries starting in 2011 and continuing through to 2018, with degeneration likely to continue as he ages. His accumulated injuries were assessed to have left him 42% disabled, he has also been challenged with depression and was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
“Bomb Disposal is a dangerous, highly committed, relentless, and intensive career choice. I feel it was my calling, it has been an honour to serve, going into harm’s way, putting my life at risk to save others. Despite all the sacrifices and injuries, if I had a choice I would do it all over again.”
Visually LTCOL Modd doesn’t appear to be that badly injured, but the permanent damage, and various surgeries have left him with multiple spinal fusions, titanium/cobalt implants, restricted movements, and other ailments.
“I have a lot of continuous pain. It wears you down physically, mentally, and it’s often incapacitating. I find that the concealed scars, mental trauma, and pain can easily go unrecognised when they aren’t so apparent.
“This goes unnoticed by those who don’t know our stories and Invictus helps promote understanding,” he said.
He said the mental and physical trauma suffered is something that doesn’t go away, you don’t get back the things you missed, the things you have lost, nor regain the things you couldn’t do and still can’t do.
Invictus provides an opportunity for some balance, to achieve goals, and to get something back. I acknowledge that I am one of the lucky people who survived, and I often think of our friends and colleagues who didn’t survive.
“I believe Invictus is for them too, allowing us to remember them, honour them, and pay our respects to one and all,” LTCOL Modd said.
LTCOL Modd’s career has come with many family sacrifices, especially for his wife Suzanne, son Connol, and daughter Farrell. He has completed over 16 operational deployments, which has seen him spend more than 12 calendar years away from his family in combat zones, or dangerous troubled areas.
“Many birthdays, Christmas’s, family celebrations, anniversaries and other special occasions with my family and friends were missed and lost. There are so many photos where my absence is apparent, and we relate them to where I was in the world at the time, or what hospital I was in,” he said.
He said it is important to acknowledge that families and friends suffer too, they worry, cope, they see their loved ones hurt, and they care for them. Their stories and sacrifices go unnoticed and untold too. Invictus provides a way to acknowledge families and offers some healing opportunities for them too.
“My family has been amazing, supporting me in my career, my service away overseas, and helping me convalesce. They have helped me through my struggles, and losses in a way that offered dignity,” LTCOL Modd said.
While initially applying for the 2016 team and being accepted, military commitments and surgery requirements meant he could not attend, and he thought that his Invictus goal was lost.
LTCOL Modd said being part of the team and an activity that seeks to promote mutual recognition, mental and physical support, and general wellbeing means more to him than words can portray.
“The whānau aspect of Invictus is also important to me. Like many of the competitors past and present I feel this is a unique opportunity to be part of something quite special.
“It is hard to explain the way we collectively feel, it’s not closure that we seek, we know that it’s not possible to change what happened or the impact it had on our careers and course of our lives.
“Invictus gives a sense of purpose, belonging, and an ability to recover in a way that far exceeds just medical interventions, and helps heal others by sharing and supporting one another.”
He said Invictus is about being part of something, with people you know, people who understand, people who have common feelings, and people focussed on mutual support.
Invictus is about getting together as a group, giving back some dignity, self-worth, and showing that despite being broken we can be in a sporting competitive environment. Even getting together as a team and training together has created amazing positive feelings.
LTCOL Modd said he is most looking forward to walking out at the opening ceremony of the Games as part of team New Zealand.
“I will be feeling so proud, feeling that I belong, and feeling strong standing shoulder to shoulder with my Invictus whānau. It will also be quite special having some of my family there sharing the experience, and knowing those who are not there will be proud that we could contribute to such an amazing event,” he said.
He will compete in Archery, Table Tennis, Rowing, Wheelchair Basketball and Wheelchair Rugby at the Games.
The sixth Invictus Games will take place in Düsseldorf from 9-16 September under the motto “A HOME FOR RESPECT” and together with the German Armed Forces, will welcome around 500 competitors from more than 20 nations, as well as around 1,000 family members and friends, to compete in ten sporting disciplines.
In February 2022, a police department in Texas announced that it had busted a truck driver for hauling some 2,600 L of liquid methamphetamine. Using tests that mixed the substance in question with tubes of reagents, officers from the Pharr Police Department and the US Drug Enforcement Administration found that the cargo tested positive for the illicit drug. Accused of transporting about $10 million worth of drugs, the driver, Juan Carlos Toscano Guzman, spent almost 6 weeks in jail, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported. But the truck’s load wasn’t meth.
Colorimetric test kits had ensnared another individual. Used since the 1970s, the tests are available for dozens of drugs but don’t always provide reliable results. At least 100,000 people across the US plead guilty to possessing drugs after positive field tests each year, according to a ProPublica estimate, so even a modest error rate—due to officers’ lacking proper training, mixing reagents in the wrong order, or getting a false positive—could mean that thousands of people’s lives are unfairly upended.
In establishing the possibility of a drug’s presence, color tests do what they’re supposed to do, says forensic scientist Brooke Kammrath of the University of New Haven. “But they’re misunderstood by the general population and the people who are using them.”
What ended up exonerating Guzman were laboratory tests. He was transporting a mix of oil and diesel, according to his lawyer. Lab methods such as Raman spectroscopy, infrared (IR) spectroscopy, and mass spectrometry are selective and more reliable methods for identifying drugs, but the delay in analyzing samples in the lab can slow investigations and leave innocent people like Guzman behind bars.
Portable versions of such spectrometers are available for police and other drug enforcement agents to use on-site, but miniaturizing analytical tools can come with trade-offs in resolution and sensitivity. To make up for that, some chemists, forensic scientists, and even data scientists have started working on ways to extract more accurate information from field samples collected by police. Some scientists have played a vital role in encouraging the equipment’s availability and adoption and in helping police understand how portable instruments can make law enforcement easier and fairer. “These are sophisticated scientific tools that we’re putting in the hands of potentially nonscientists,” Kammrath says. Scientists need to understand and explain the instruments’ advantages and limitations to ensure the equipment is being used properly, she says.
Portable spectrometers have long been used by nonscientists. Some of the earliest spectrometers that could be taken into the field appeared in the 1950s, including a portable IR spectrometer the US military developed to detect chemical warfare agents. Such instruments became common in the tool kits of US hazmat and threat response teams in the wake of the 2001 anthrax attacks that started a week after 9/11. Today’s array of portable instruments includes optical spectrometers, such as Raman, near-IR and mid-IR, mass, and ion mobility spectrometers.
Especially in the past 20 years, portable instruments have gotten smaller. Some mass spectrometers have shrunk to the size of a briefcase, while some Raman and IR spectrometers can be a bit larger than a deck of playing cards. “The whole revolution in consumer electronics has helped these enormously,” says Richard A. Crocombe, a spectroscopist who runs his own scientific consulting firm. Diode lasers, such as those developed for CD and Blu-ray players and other advances in telecommunications, have helped optical spectrometers slim down. And mass specs have benefited from smaller ion traps. With smaller components that can run on less power, the devices’ footprints have dwindled.
But generally, “portable instruments are not the same as their benchtop counterparts,” Kammrath says. Portable Raman spectrometers can’t yet achieve the throughput and sensitivity that benchtop systems can, and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) instruments are limited by the type and length of columns available. Resolution can be an issue, for instance, with high-pressure mass spectrometry, in which mixture components aren’t separated before analysis. For comparison, some benchtop mass specs have resolutions eight times as high as these machines.
When it comes to illicit drugs, people who clean up clandestine labs also use portable instruments to test whether the unidentified substances they encounter are dangerous. Both IR and Raman spectrometers are simple and fast to use, but IR techniques require the sample to be placed in contact with the detector. For Raman, “you can have a plastic baggie of raw materials, and you can shoot right through it and get a spectrum,” says Pauline E. Leary, a spectroscopist at Noble Supply & Logistics, which sells equipment, including spectrometers, for military applications and low-resource environments.
At the same time, each portable device has benefits and limitations: GC/MS can parse complex mixtures but destroys the sample, whereas Raman doesn’t. Fluorescence from a sample can mask a drug’s Raman signal, while water in a sample can overwhelm an IR spectrum. So combining multiple tests to create a tool kit is the best approach, Kammrath says. A recent study formed a tool kit containing handheld or portable Raman, Fourier transform IR (FT-IR), and mass spec devices. Researchers at the US Food and Drug Administration found that, using at least one of the three instruments, they could detect 81 of 88 different active pharmaceutical ingredients. When at least two techniques were used, at least one instrument detected all ingredients. Overall, the tool kit’s results were as reliable as a full-service lab (J. Pharm. Biomed. Anal. 2021, DOI: 10.1016/j.jpba.2021.114183).
According to recommendations for laboratory testing of drugs, users can pair various methods—such as color tests with GC/MS or ion mobility with IR spectroscopy, Kammrath says. Having two orthogonal techniques casts a wide net to identify many types of unknowns.
Workhorse methods of portable chemical analysis need to be fast and require little sample preparation. Each comes with trade-offs
in sensitivity and possible application.
Raman spectroscopy
▸ Up-front cost: $12,500–$25,000
▸ Sample handling: Scans through glass and quartz containers and transparent plastics
▸ Data acquisition time: Few seconds to 1 min
▸ Destructive? No
▸ Target applications: Single-component samples, high-concentration mixtures, white powders, liquids and tablets
▸ Problematic samples: Dark, colored, and fluorescent materials, mixtures with trace amounts (e.g., pills with trace fentanyl), plant samples (e.g., marijuana)
Infrared spectroscopy
▸ Up-front cost: $25,000–$50,000
▸ Sample handling: Must be in direct contact with a sample
▸ Data acquisition time: <1 min
▸ Destructive? No
▸ Target applications: Single-component samples, white powders, liquids and tablets
▸ Problematic samples: Mixtures with low-concentration components, samples containing water
High-pressure mass spectrometry
▸ Up-front cost: >$50,000
▸ Sample handling: Analyzes a swab of a surface or packaging
▸ Data acquisition time: 10–30 s
▸ Destructive? Yes
▸ Target applications: Trace amounts of analytes, mixtures
▸ Problematic samples: Samples with concentrated components
Near-infrared spectroscopy
▸ Up-front cost: $2,000–$37,500
▸ Sample handling: Scans through glass and quartz containers and transparent plastics
▸ Data acquisition time: 5 s
▸ Destructive? No
▸ Target applications: Single-component samples, high-concentration mixtures, white powders
▸ Problematic samples: Mixtures with low-concentration components
Ion mobility spectrometry
▸ Up-front cost: $10,000–$37,500
▸ Sample handling: Analyzes a swab of a surface or packaging
▸ Data acquisition time: 10–30 s
▸ Destructive? Yes
▸ Target applications: Trace amounts of analytes, high-concentration mixtures
▸ Problematic samples: Samples with concentrated components (e.g., purified powders) that can overload the detector
Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry
▸ Up-front cost: >$50,000
▸ Sample handling: Analyzes a sample that has been removed from packaging and dissolved in solvent
▸ Data acquisition time: 4–15 min
▸ Destructive? Yes
▸ Target applications: Trace amounts of analytes, separation of mixtures
▸ Problematic samples: Plant samples that are not dissolved, samples with concentrated components
Sources: Forensic Technology Center of Excellence, Landscape Study of Field Portable Devices for Presumptive Drug Testing, 2018; Richard Crocombe, “The Ever-Shrinking Spectrometer: New Technologies and Applications,” in Sense the Real Change: Proceedings of the 20th International Conference on Near Infrared Spectroscopy Forensic Technology Center of Excellence, Landscape Study of Field Portable Devices for Presumptive Drug Testing, 2018; Richard Crocombe, “The Ever-Shrinking Spectrometer: New Technologies and Applications,” in Sense the Real Change: Proceedings of the 20th International Conference on Near Infrared Spectroscopy, ed. Xiaoli Chu et al. (Springer Singapore, 2022), DOI: 10.1007/978-981-19-4884-8_2; “Spectroscopy outside the Laboratory” 2022, DOI: 10.56530/spectroscopy.lz8466z5.
Forensic scientists scanning a crime scene may need to see what’s hardly there—trace powders, residues in a container, dopants that make up a small part of a mixture found in the field. The spectra they get from portable instruments often can’t identify a very small amount of a substance among the noise caused by, say, other ingredients in a drug sample, Leary explains.
US law enforcement agencies have recently seized large amounts of low-dose fentanyl pills. Some of these pills had 1% or less of the synthetic opioid and mostly contained the Tylenol ingredient acetaminophen. According to the US Drug Enforcement Administration, less than 2 mg of fentanyl can be a fatal dose. Instrument manufacturers claimed their equipment could detect fentanyl in such pills, but Leary and Kammrath found that most of the techniques fell short when used in tests.
Acetaminophen and fentanyl have similar IR peaks, and neither IR nor Raman can detect concentrations as low as 1% anyway. With some portable mass spectrometry methods, the acetaminophen would overwhelm the detector. Ion mobility spectrometry could detect 1% fentanyl in the mixture, but the technique isn’t considered the most reliable, because unrelated ions of similar size and weight could have similar mobilities as those of a drug. “A lot of times for these field instruments, we just can’t get the limits of detection we need for a specific problem,” Leary says.
To remedy such problems, Kammrath and her colleagues are trying to come up with new ways to extract trace fentanyl from a mixture so it can be analyzed in the field with a more discriminating technique. Their working prototype is based on an extraction system from RedWave Technology, a company that develops portable FT-IR instruments. It hinges on a portable tool that takes a powder or pill and does a solvent extraction to concentrate any fentanyl present. An officer could then paint the resulting solution onto the IR detector for a scan. Extraction techniques could potentially expand the range of samples that can be analyzed by portable IR spectroscopy, Kammrath says. Of course, extractions aren’t one size fits all, so new tools would have to be developed to extract other trace drugs.
Parallel to efforts to physically concentrate samples, researchers are also finding ways to unmask components hiding in mixtures by digitally parsing their raw spectral data. There was a time when searching for tricky-to-spot spectroscopic features was like “chasing a ghost,” says Igor K. Lednev, a laser spectroscopist at the University at Albany. For instance, peaks from some components in a mixture could be rendered invisible by the spectral contributions of substances present in much higher concentrations, like in the case of pills with trace fentanyl. “Now, if we combine Raman spectroscopy with statistical analysis, we can reliably detect and identify components in a mixture which you don’t see with the naked eye,” Lednev says.
This approach relies on matching spectral data against databases of known compounds. But sometimes a dangerous drug, such as a fentanyl analog, may be missing. “That particular fentanyl analog may be completely new, and it’s not in our set of what’s familiar,” says Phillip Koshute, a data scientist at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. He and colleagues have developed machine learning approaches to detect such drugs’ signals lurking in mass spectra and Raman spectra (Forensic Chem. 2022, DOI: 10.1016/j.forc.2021.100379; SSRN 2022, DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.4246466). Working with chemists to zero in on the most important spectral features, the researchers trained machine learning models on pure substances’ spectra to detect fentanyl analogs. “The next step would be repeating the process but with the real-world, messy data,” Koshute says.
The capability to analyze mixtures or identify novel compounds could someday be built into instruments, Lednev says. Portable spectrometers are already equipped to transmit their data wirelessly. Spectra could be sent to a cloud-based tool for machine learning, returning a determination and confidence interval.
Compared with hazmat teams and fire departments, “the forensic community has been very slow to adopt portable instruments,” Kammrath says. But some police departments and crime labs are starting to take to the devices.
Since 2011, dozens of agencies around Alabama have begun using portable Raman spectroscopy for drug testing in the field or the lab. Mark Hopwood was then the director of one of the state’s crime labs, and a backlog of some 30,000 drug cases statewide required testing. “It was taking anywhere from a year to 2 years to get lab results back,” says Hopwood, who is now a forensic scientist at Jacksonville State University (JSU).
In an effort to reduce the backlog, Hopwood’s team tried out portable spectrometers, playing with the devices for a month and doing field trials. Of the systems tested, Thermo Fisher Scientific’s TruNarc handheld analyzer—which is a Raman spectrometer with only three buttons and looks like a chunky handheld gaming console—stood out for its ease of use and durability, Hopwood says. Additionally, “there was no way to manipulate data,” he says. For instance, it wouldn’t be possible for an officer acting in bad faith to scan sugar or salt and falsely name it as cocaine or another drug in the spectral library. If a scanned substance came up as an unknown, the team could use what’s called a reach-back service, getting support within hours or a day from Thermo scientists, who could help identify the compound and add the substance to the spectral library. Such services are already commonly used by hazmat teams that want a trained analyst to verify results or talk through data concerns, Noble’s Leary says.
The spectra of the scanned substance and its library match could be shared with defense attorneys, who could then advise defendants to either go to drug court or take a plea deal, Hopwood says. A plea deal based on a spectrometry result may be preferable to one based on less-reliable color tests. And in a case in which a conviction is likely, after lab-based testing, going to court may drag out the legal process, he adds.
These are sophisticated scientific tools that we’re putting in the hands of potentially nonscientists.
-Brooke Kammrath, forensic scientist, University of New Haven
The TruNarc devices helped cut Alabama’s pending caseload by about 30% within a few months. “It ended up freeing up the jails, saving the sheriffs money—because they’re not having to feed and house people”—and the courts were able to collect fines, Hopwood says.
A 2014 survey of portable Raman for drug testing calls Hopwood a “technology champion” for the instruments. He has helped departments adopt these devices and is training drug task force and narcotics units on how to use them. He has also opened his department at JSU to officers from nearby counties, making a few devices available for their use when they need a quick identification.
Funding can hinder police departments in adopting portable spectrometry, Kammrath says. A bill was introduced in the US Congress in 2019 that would have funded departments looking to buy portable instruments for drug testing, but it didn’t garner enough support to move forward.
Kammrath says scientists could help strengthen the argument for these devices and increase their appeal to lawmakers and police. A cost-benefit analysis targeted at law enforcement that details other tangible benefits, such as cost savings from not purchasing color tests, and intangible ones, such as the cost of life from wrongful arrests and incarcerations, could help change minds. “Portable instruments are rapid, they’re reliable, and they create a reviewable record,” she says. “We haven’t made a good-enough case as a scientific community for our need for these instruments.”
Acknowledgement to C&EN, 2023, 101 (13), pp 28–32April 24, 2023
Skydio, the leading U.S. drone manufacturer and world leader in autonomous flight, today announced that the new Skydio X2D has been selected as a trusted drone platform for the Department of Defense and Federal Government as part of DIU’s Blue sUAS Project. This is a major milestone in Skydio’s strategy to bring the power of its world leading autonomy engine to public sector customers. To provide the best possible support to clients, Skydio is also announcing the addition of new executive leadership and strategic partnership with ADS, Inc.
Skydio selected as an approved vendor in DIU’s Blue sUAS Project. DIU’s effort builds upon the U.S. Army’s small Unmanned Aircraft System (sUAS) program of record, the Short Range Reconnaissance (SRR), for an inexpensive, rucksack portable, vertical take-off and landing sUAS. Skydio was selected as one of five Blue sUAS vendors out of dozens of applicants.
“It’s an honor to be selected as one of the few commercial companies asked to develop this technology in service to our country,” said Adam Bry, Skydio CEO. “As concerns around trust and security have grown, Skydio is proud to provide an American drone with the world’s most advanced autonomy technology and the highest standards of cyber and supply chain security. As the only U.S drone company manufacturing at scale, and the only company with a strong commercial and consumer foundation, we are uniquely well-suited to serve the needs of the nation’s warfighters.”
Skydio X2D, announced in July, meets the specifications outlined by DIU for a lightweight, short-range reconnaissance drone and is the only fully autonomous drone in the Blue sUAS group. Skydio drones are designed, assembled and supported in the United States providing the highest level of supply chain security. During its live demonstration at DIU’s Blue sUAS virtual launch on August 19th, Skydio showcased the X2D’s world leading autonomous flight capabilities that make it the ultimate solution for reconnaissance, search and rescue, and security patrol missions. Attending the event were representatives from top US government agencies, including Department of Defense (DoD), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Department of Interior (DOI), Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Agriculture (DoA), Department of Commerce (DoC), General Services Administration (GSA), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
Skydio announces new leadership to support public sector customers. Drawing talent from the world’s top national security, public safety, and enterprise drone organizations to provide world-class service to public sector customers. Skydio is announcing the addition of three key executive team members including:
“We have built a world class direct team and partner ecosystem with unmatched industry expertise to support Public Sector customers as they expand their next generation drone platforms. The combination of Skydio’s US-based leadership in UAS autonomy combined with our team’s experience in building scalable drone programs provides unmatched value to our customers,” added Skydio Chief Operating Officer, Mark Cranney.
Skydio announces new partnership with ADS. Government supplier ADS will serve as a reseller and contracting partner for Skydio’s public sector sales. ADS holds more than 60 Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contracts and Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPAs) and has grown to be the #1 Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Supplier and a Top 50 Federal Government Contractor. Skydio’s forthcoming X2D drone will be listed on the General Services Administration (GSA) schedule and available for procurement starting in Q4 2020.
“Skydio’s autonomy features are game changing in the small UAS grouping. As the world’s leading distributor of military rated UAS, ADS is pleased to provide Skydio full support as they roll out the X2D autonomous solution to the defense and commercial sectors. Having a US based IP firm and domestic manufacturing allows Skydio to blend the best in technology with home grown production, ADS is really excited to see this benefit our mutual customers,” said Ryan Angold, ADS Senior VP of Sales.
Source: Skydio
Awesome footage from the Royal New Zealand Navy School to Seas Camp at Auckland’s Devonport Naval Base. This initiative showcases the extensive STEM career options available in the Navy, with a specific focus on builidng confidence and curiosity in young high school women regarding potential careers in the Navy. Great way to inspire them to consider their future in the navy.
Very impressive pushups in an EOD10 bombsuit!
Acknowledgement: Seven Sharp – Ahoy my new career
Laurent Bouraoui (Technical Director), Iwan Hauteville (Technician Plasturgist), Bruno Steux (Director of Innovation), Jack Batty, Quentin Fichet (Technician), Romain le Berre ( Sales Export Director)
EPE. Trusted To Protect is honoured by the partnership built with Nexter, and the trust their team has put in our technicians.
Nexter’s transfer of expertise and knowledge to our technicians enables EPE to build the sovereign ability to train, maintain and sustain this important capability domestically in Australia. EPE’s model of developing world class specialist technicians trained and accredited by OEMs, and based in our Maintenance and Support Hubs in Australia and New Zealand, enables us to optimise operational availability while minimising cost and time of repair. A big thank you to the Nexter team for training Jack Batty, who has become one of Australia’s leading robotics technicians, and also to Defence Australia for supporting this training through the Skilling Australia’s Defence Industry (SADI) fund.
Canberra, Australia, April 20, 2023.Today, Defence announced Australian veteran owned company, EPE as the prime contractor for the sustainment of Australia’s first deployable Weapons Technical Intelligence (WTI) forensic laboratories.
The LAND 154 Phase 2 Weapons Technical Intelligence capability will improve Defence’s joint CIED response, providing the Australian Defence Force (ADF) with the ability to independently deploy a WTI capability which will provide in-depth and more deliberate exploitation conducted within a deployable, purpose-built processing facility. Providing greater depth and scope of exploitation and analysis will deliver timely, actionable operational intelligence and allow the ADF to rapidly respond to IED blast events and other threats to provide critical analysis of evidence.
Strengthening Australia’s security, the project will support a new sovereign capability – raised, trained, maintained and sustained in Australia, and create new technical jobs, develop local expertise and leverage partnerships with Australian owned subcontractors.
EPE’s WTI Project Director, Keith Mollison, said “The distinct skillsets of our military veteran team allows EPE to bring a unique combination of Weapons Technical Intelligence experts, Project Management expertise and specialist maintenance technicians to support this key capability, ensure its longevity, and boost Australia’s security and its interoperability with our allies.”
About EPE
In its 25th year of operation, EPE’s purpose is to enable and protect Australians and our allies operating in hazardous environments. EPE provides a range of Detection, Diagnostics, Mitigation, Neutralization, and Exploitation capabilities that support First Responders, Defence Forces, Law Enforcement, and other government agencies in the Asia Pacific region. Our personnel have extensive real world operational experience spanning Special Forces, Counter IED, Intelligence and Exploitation. We understand how the specialist equipment is employed and more importantly, the strategic, operational, and tactical demands encountered across the full spectrum of operational environments in which they may be deployed.
Media contacts:
For Australia and Asia Pacific contact Narelle Hoffman, Marketing and Communications Manager, EPE.
Phone: +61 (0)402 486 393 or email:
Find out more at: www.epequip.com. Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter
An Australian Army soldier prepares an explosive charge during an urban breaching serial at Townsville Field Training Area. Photo: Sergeant Brodie Cross
An Australian company will ensure ADF personnel working with explosive devices on operations have a safe laboratory capability to operate in.
Defence has signed a $30 million contract with Zangold Pty Ltd, trading as Explosive Protective Equipment (EPE), to support the ADF Weapons Technical Intelligence laboratories.
The deployable high-tech laboratories, which are constructed in a modern shipping container design, provide mobile protection for soldiers, sailors and aviators undertaking explosive hazardous material and forensic analysis in the field.
Zangold Pty Ltd will deliver essential services to keep the state-of-the-art laboratories operational at all times.
Assistant Secretary of Electromagnetic Warfare and Intelligence Systems Alex Rothwell said the laboratories provided a safe environment for soldiers, sailors and airmen working with explosive devices even when deployed.
“This level of support demonstrates a new level of collaboration between Defence and industry in supporting this advanced and complex capability,” Mr Rothwell said.
The support and maintenance to the laboratories will be based out of Brisbane and Adelaide and will create up to 15 full-time specialist technical positions for EPE. Support of the laboratories will also require engagement with a range of local businesses for maintenance and repair.
Originally published on the Australian Government Department of Defence News
“We’re doing an assessment of all the technology for surveillance within the defence estate and where those particular cameras are found, they’ll be removed,” Marles told the ABC.
“It’s a significant thing that’s been brought to our attention and we’re going to fix it – it’s obviously been there … for some time and predates us coming into office.”
The government review came after the Australian War Memorial in Canberra said it was removing Chinese cameras.
Lunar Outpost and EPE will co-lead their consortium in supporting Australia’s first-ever mission to the Moon.
Adelaide, SA – March 20, 2023 – Today, Minister for Industry and Science, the Hon Ed Husic MP, along with dignitaries from the Australian Space Agency and NASA announced the EPE & Lunar Outpost Oceania Consortium as one of two successful groups to receive Stage 1 grant funding from the Australian Government’s Moon to Mars Trailblazer Initiative. The project received grant funding from the Australian Government through the Australian Space Agency.
The Consortium will design critical autonomous lunar mobility and excavation solutions for the Trailblazer Initiative. Co-led by EPE and Lunar Outpost Oceania, the Consortium brings U.S.-based Lunar Outpost, a global leader in commercial planetary mobility, with significant experience leading multiple successful cislunar space missions and collaboration with NASA Artemis program, together with Australia’s EPE, a Queensland-based SME specialising in robotics, autonomous systems, system integration and translation of technology in collaboration with Research and Defence organisations.
The Moon to Mars Trailblazer Initiative seeks to progress Australian space exploration with remotely operated and autonomous Australian robotic lunar assets. In Stage 1 of the Initiative, the Consortium will focus on the design and development of a lunar rover designed to operate in the Moon’s unique environment, leveraging Lunar Outpost’s experience and capabilities in autonomous lunar mobility and excavation solutions. The lunar rover will be capable of collection of lunar regolith for delivery to a NASA science in-situ resource utilisation (ISRU) facility. The EPE & Lunar Outpost Oceania Consortium aim to be selected for Stage 2 of the Initiative and delivery by NASA of an Australian lunar rover to the Moon.
Expanding its presence from the U.S. and EU, Lunar Outpost also announced the formation of Melbourne-based Lunar Outpost Oceania (LOOC), a wholly owned subsidiary established to support and accelerate the Australian aerospace industry. LOOC will leverage the knowledge from prior missions while building local Australian expertise to drive a successful Moon to Mars Trailblazer mission and invigorate Australia’s emerging space industry, resulting in:
● Creation of highly skilled jobs and economic growth that extends beyond the space sector into energy, mining and agriculture.
● Rapid growth and maturation of Australia’s national space capability through important scientific and engineering advancements.
● Formation of bilateral and multilateral public-private collaboration, positioning the space sector as an international front door for civil space activities and partnerships.
● Renewed interest in space for commercial and humanitarian causes, inspiring the future workforce with the future of space travel, habitation and research.
The EPE & Lunar Outpost Oceania Consortium, together with the Australian Space Agency, will connect highly capable and motivated space professionals in Australia with opportunities to leverage leading mining and mineral extraction capabilities. Coupling LOOC’s cislunar mobility expertise with EPE’s extensive experience in Uncrewed Ground Vehicles (UGV), autonomous operations and sensor integrations will accelerate efforts to take advantage of innovation in the space domain to deliver measurable improvements to Australian national security and the sustainability of the mining industry on Earth.
The EPE & Lunar Outpost Oceania Consortium is fortified with depth and expertise from Consortium Partners. Lead organisations include BHP, Northrop Grumman Australia, RMIT University’s Space Industry Hub, and University of Melbourne’s Space Laboratory. University of Adelaide, Inovor, Australian National University, Element Robotics, Colorado School of Mines and Saber Astronautics will provide specialist contributions, and Australian Industry Collaborators include Titomic, One Giant Leap, VIPAC and CD3D.
Co-founder and CEO of Lunar Outpost, Mr Justin Cyrus, is excited to partner with co-lead EPE, on the Australian Government-funded project. “With Trailblazer, our consortium will work with the Australian Space Agency to redefine resource extraction and utilisation. Trailblazer is a unique opportunity to not only utilise resources from another planetary body but also to bring that novel technology back here to Earth to guide mining into a carbon-neutral future; all in pursuit of taking mining and heavy industry into space in the years to come.”
EPE’s Managing Director, Mr Warwick Penrose, said “This is an unparalleled opportunity for the development of sovereign capability in Australia’s space industry. Together with co-lead Lunar Outpost, we’re excited to contribute to the Initiative our many years of experience testing, deploying and operating UGVs in remote and hostile environments, and leveraging the significant capabilities of our Consortium Partners to help develop a global competitive advantage for Australia within an international space exploration program.”
ABOUT LUNAR OUTPOST
Founded in 2017, Lunar Outpost has raised $12 million in funding backed by investors including the Explorer 1 Fund, Promus Ventures, Space Capital, Type One Ventures and Cathexis Ventures. In late 2022 Lunar Outpost announced the development of the commercially funded 15 kg Mobile Autonomous Prospecting Platform (MAPP) rover—including a payload mass allocation for MIT—scheduled for delivery by an Intuitive Machines lander to the lunar South Pole in 2023. The company is currently developing the
20 kg Lunar Vertex MAPP rover for a 2024 NASA-funded science and exploration mission to the equatorial Reiner Gamma site, supported by the NASA Payloads and Research Investigations on the Surface of the Moon (PRISM) program. In addition, Lunar Outpost was recently granted a NASA Lunar Surface Technology Research (LuSTR) award in partnership with the Colorado School of Mines and Michigan Technological University to develop and mature lunar regolith excavation technologies, with an end goal of successful demonstration on the Moon. Lunar Outpost is an industry leader in commercial space robotics, lunar surface mobility, and in-situ resource utilisation. From our terrestrial product lines revolutionising the air quality sector to the creation of oxygen on Mars, their impact spans the solar system. Lunar Outpost’s flagship rover, the Mobile Autonomous Prospecting Platform, will be the first commercial rover to the lunar South Pole in 2023. Find out more at: lunaroutpost.com. Follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram.
ABOUT EPE
In its 25th year of operation, EPE’s purpose is to enable and protect Australians and allies operating in hazardous environments. EPE provides specialist support to government agencies and defence organisations to undertake design and integration activities, and deliver niche capabilities in robotics, sensors and effectors for deployment in hazardous environments. EPE works closely with industry and research and development organisations to develop technology and products for commercialisation, and provides technology verification and validation (V&V) services at its south-east Queensland-based MILTECS facilities (Military Training, Evaluation, Certification and Systems Assurance).
Find out more at: www.epequip.com. Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter .
Media contacts:
For Australia and Asia Pacific contact Narelle Hoffman, Marketing and Communications Manager, EPE. Phone: +61 (0)402 486 393 or email:
For USA contact Kealy O’Brien, Marketing Manager, Lunar Outpost.
Phone: +1 661 703 0523 Email:
In a continuing sign of the close co-operation between Australia and the United States, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Administrator Bill Nelson and Deputy Administrator Pamela Melroy are visiting Australia this week, in the first visit of a sitting NASA Administrator to our shores since 2014.
Australia has a long history of collaboration in space with the US dating back to the 1950s, including helping to broadcast the Apollo 11 Moon landing to the world and tracking the most recent Artemis mission.
Minister for Industry and Science Ed Husic said, “It’s fantastic to welcome the head of NASA to Australia. We have been working with the US in space for more than 65 years, and I look forward to meeting Senator Nelson later this week to discuss how that continues long into the future”.
To mark the visit, Minister Husic announced grants for two successful Australian consortiums under the Government’s Moon to Mars Trailblazer initiative.
The AROSE consortium and the EPE and Lunar Outpost Oceania consortium will each receive $4 million to design early-stage prototypes of a semi-autonomous rover, as part of stage one of the Trailblazer program.
Minister Husic said, “Drawing on Australia’s world leading remote operations, the rover will collect lunar soil known as regolith from the Moon and deliver it to a NASA payload, which will attempt to extract oxygen from the sample”.
The rover, which aims to launch by 2026, is part of the NASA Moon to Mars mission which will be a major step towards a sustainable human presence on the Moon and supporting future missions to Mars.
Each winning consortium is made up of a mixture of Australian industries, space start-ups, major resources companies, universities, and other research partners.
The Trailblazer program will help further develop Australia’s robotics and automation capability, aligning with the development of the Australian Government’s National Robotics Strategy.
“It is great that, with this announcement, Administrator Nelson will get to witness first-hand the extensive knowledge and capability in our space sector, as well as robotics and automation more broadly.
“From those selected to be part of the Trailblazer program, to other industry success stories and our impressive universities and research organisations, Australia has much to be proud of.
“Programs like Trailblazer are important to growing our space sector, as well as our know-how in robotics and automation. It also has an important role to play in inspiring more young Australians to consider STEM careers,” Minister Husic said.
Quotes attributable to NASA Administrator Senator Bill Nelson:
“I’m excited to be working with Australia on this important lunar mission.
“It’s cooperation like this that will enable NASA and our international partners to uncover more discoveries. In this new era of space exploration, every advancement is not an achievement for one country – but for all of humanity”.
Background
NASA officials will visit Adelaide, where the Australian Space Agency is headquartered, and Canberra.
The itinerary includes the launch of a new Indigenous internship program, an industry event, a tour of a collaborative space research facility, meetings at Parliament House and an address from the Administrator to the National Press Club on Thursday 23 March.
The launch of the LCD 4 – a body worn toxic chemical detector – alongside a first of its kind extension – XID – brings enhanced versatility to the detector, allowing it to identify traces of super toxic chemical agents, narcotics and explosives – including fentanyl and novichok.
Smiths Detection, a global leader in threat detection and security screening technology, today announces the launch of its latest chemical agent identifier, Lightweight Chemical Detector (LCD) 4 alongside the LCD XID extension. This will expand the detection capabilities of the LCD to include street narcotics, explosives, pharmaceuticals, and other super toxic chemical threats.
The capability of LCD can be transformed by placing the detector into the XID cradle, where it immediately turns the vapour detection device into a ruggedised mobile trace detector that can be used in any CBRNe (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosive) scenario.
The XID has been developed as a direct response to the request from existing LCD customers to adapt the capabilities of the detector to the constantly evolving global threat environment which is driving the requirement to detect and identify minute quantities of super toxic threats such as fentanyl and novichok.
The LCD series is the most widely deployed personal chemical detector globally, over 100,000 detectors are in service with operators in 58 different countries. The largest operator is the US DOD through its Joint Chemical Agent Detector (JCAD) Program. The LCD and LCD XID have been evaluated in the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons laboratories and provide the benchmark for personal protection against toxic chemical threats.
Smiths Detection’s Defence Market Director, Michael Lea, said: “The LCD 4 and the XID have been developed to respond to the changing threat environment. The XID gives CBRNe and HAZMAT operators the ability to detect and identify a far broader range of threats that they may encounter on everyday operations. The XID is a great illustration of Smiths Detection’s capability to develop products in response to customer needs and helping us to achieve our mission to make the world safer place.”
The LCD 4 & XID will be on display at the Security & Policing event in Farnborough, UK, 14-16 March (booth C87).
Victoria Police has confirmed it will replace all Chinese-made cameras by the end of next year amid a growing debate about how best to counter foreign intelligence gathering.
The force said a number of cameras were still operating across the state and despite being deemed low risk, would be progressively replaced.
Earlier this week, the Victorian government confirmed it would conduct an audit of all security cameras at government-owned sites. The federal government has already removed hundreds of Chinese-made devices from Commonwealth departments and locations such as the Australian War Memorial.
As The Age revealed on Tuesday, the City of Greater Geelong is replacing Chinese-made CCTV cameras amid concerns the makers of such devices are compelled to hand over data to Beijing if asked.
A spokeswoman for Victoria Police said the agency was aware of the debate surrounding Chinese-made cameras.
“There continues to be a number of Chinese-manufactured cameras used across the state and these are being progressively replaced,” she said.
Clampdown on Chinese-made CCTV cameras in Australian government buildings.
The spokeswoman added that while police would continue to monitor the situation, the cameras in question were currently considered low-risk because they were connected to a secure network.
“It is expected the cameras in question will all be replaced by the end of 2024,” she said.
The development has been welcomed by upper house Liberal Democrats MP David Limbrick, whose party opposes mass surveillance. Devices made by Chinese companies Hikvision and Dahua have been linked to Beijing’s efforts to ramp up facial recognition technology, and coerce and control Uyghur minorities.
“It’s good to know the replacement of cameras is on the police’s to-do list,” Limbrick said.
“But it would be even more reassuring if they could demonstrate they knew how many cameras there were and could express a bit of urgency about it.”
Victorian Liberal senator James Paterson, who has been pursuing this issue at a federal level through Senate estimates, said he’d like Victoria Police to replace all Chinese-made cameras before the end of 2024.
“I’d like to see much more urgency,” he said. “If they are a national security risk, there should be no delay in addressing it.”
Hikvision has said it was categorically false to suggest the company was a threat to national security.
A Victorian government spokesperson said: “This is a matter for Victoria Police.”
Acknowledgement of The Age news article written by Broede Carmody on Ferbuary 23, 2023. https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/victoria-police-to-replace-all-chinese-made-cameras-by-end-of-2024-20230223-p5cmwp.html
Culturally historic sites across the globe are a gateway to our past, binding us to our ancestors’ way of life. Every site is vulnerable to destruction and can disappear in an instant. Whether this is from man-made events like the war in Ukraine where UNESCO has sited over 150 sites damaged or destroyed, or natural disasters such as the severe 2015 earthquake in Nepal which destroyed 80% of the historic structures and temples in both Bhaktapur and Kathmandu Durbar Squares. There is an alarming need to accelerate conservation efforts through the digital documentation of historic sites in order to preserve them for the future and ensure documentation is sufficient should sites need to be rebuilt.
Deep in the Himalayas, Nepal is home to ten UNESCO World Heritage Sites, seven of which are located in the Kathmandu Valley. Kathmandu Valley is an ancient cultural and administrative hub that is home to thousands of temples, monuments, and palaces of significant cultural and historical importance.
In April 2015, Nepal suffered a devastating 7.8 earthquake, resulting in massive loss of life with nearly 9,000 deaths and thousands more injured. Over 6,000 structures were damaged in Kathmandu. It took a substantial period of time for relevant agencies to even start the reconstruction of the heritage sites, as no accurate and detailed scans existed nor were there enough resources to complete all of them within a short timeframe.
In 2021, Skydio partnered with WeRobotics to host a microgrant scholarship to Flying Labs across the globe in order to provide resources and support for projects in which Skydio Autonomy and products could provide an immensely positive impact. Each Flying Labs emerges from locally-led efforts in response to pressing challenges in a community. Of the proposals submitted, Nepal Flying Labs was selected as a recipient for their project to create a digital twin by mapping Changu Narayan Temple, the oldest temple in Kathmandu Valley dating back to the 5th Century. During the 2015 earthquake, the two-tier pagoda temples of Changu Narayan were seriously damaged, highlighting the growing need for digital preservation.
Nepal Flying Labs pilots initiatives with international humanitarian organizations and the local governments to support emergency response and reconstruction through the use of emerging technologies. Their early initiatives initially focused heavily on damage assessment and situational analysis before taking a more proactive role in preservation as technologies improved and new solutions emerged. Based on the experience of Nepal Flying Labs working with multiple governments at both local and central level during other mapping projects, the main challenge identified during the reconstruction efforts of heritage sites after the 2015 earthquake was a way to preserve the physical presence, integrity and architectural aesthetics of the structures, some of which date back several hundreds of years.
In this regard, Nepal Flying Labs stated recent studies show that, with the frequent earthquakes and the subsequent aftershocks, most of the historical buildings and cultural sites in Nepal, along with the ones in Changu Narayan Municipality, have taken heavy amounts of damage, making the structures fragile and vulnerable over time.
By leveraging Skydio 3D Scan to create a digital twin of Changu Narayan Temple, any agency such as Department of Archaeology, UNESCO, Changu Narayan Municipality, representatives from world heritage sites, and any other concerned stakeholder and individuals are able to use the high resolution images, video clips and 3D model for aiding in reconstruction and documenting structural changes over time. Throughout the process, Nepal Flying Labs worked cooperatively with multiple agencies, such as Department of Archaeology, Changu Narayan Temple Preservation Committee, District Administrative Office, and local police to assist in the logistics of permits, drone operation permissions, and closing off the site for a short period of time to conduct flights. Nepal Flying Labs was able to safely fly around the temple and close enough to capture intricate details thanks to Skydio Autonomy and reduced obstacle avoidance. After the flights, the data was processed in Bentley’s Context Capture to create the Changu Narayan Temple 3D Model. Nepal Flying labs and the local municipality now have a foundation to compare future scans against to assess deterioration, damages, and weather affecting the structure over time; a digital interactive health status.
The process of mapping of Changu Narayan Temple provides insight into the complex nature of how to approach conservation of Heritage sites using drones. Nepal Flying Labs approached the project with extreme care as the sentiments of the local communities need to be well understood and critically evaluated. Historically, mapping heritage sites, especially with drones, is banned unless there is an extremely critical need for the work. They formed a consortium of relevant government authorities, and local stakeholders to obtain consent for data acquisition as it was crucial for heritage mapping and maintaining the integrity of heritage sites. We would like to thank the officials from the Changu Narayan Municipality and the Department of Archaeology for their support in securing permissions for drone flights in the temple’s No Fly Zone airspace; this aspect of the work was handled with the utmost care and cooperation. This partnership highlights how vital it is to utilize locally led, on the ground, organizations as they live in the communities they operate in and have a deeper understanding of the local culture and practices in order to maintain the integrity of the site’s value to the community.
After the success of documenting this first heritage site, Nepal Flying Labs is continuing to work with the Government of Nepal on efforts to map and create digital twins of other World Heritage Sites in Nepal. They are organizing a technical workshop with the Department of Archaeology in the near future with experts in historic preservation to gather additional feedback on improvements for continuing heritage documentation. Skydio’s expert obstacle avoidance makes it an ideal platform for mapping historic sites closely without fear of crashing or damaging the site. At Skydio, we look forward to supporting Nepal Flying Labs in their efforts to preserve these historic sites for future generations.
There will never be a perfect social or economical time to engage in cultural and historical preservation initiatives. It’s vital to start now, because mother nature and war don’t pause for preservation. Locally led efforts lead to a significantly higher project sustainability due to locals understanding and living in the communities they are trying to help. Heritage preservation projects take time; it means working with local authorities, government officials, working through elections, and local aviation authorities which can range anywhere from a couple months to a couple years. All the more reason on the ground locally led efforts are needed. Skydio understands it may take years for our technology to reach various communities and corners of the world. Which is why, if there is a deep need in your community for support much like the Nepal Flying Labs, please reach out to Skydio For All at .
Acknowledgement of Skydio article written by Mira Marquez on March 7, 2023. https://www.skydio.com/blog/digital-reconstruction-nepal-changu-narayan-temple?utm_campaign=Skydio+For+All&utm_content=social-LinkedIn&utm_medium=social&utm_post=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Ffeed%2Fupdate%2Furn%3Ali%3AugcPost%3A7038984784689172480&utm_profile=Skydio&utm_source=LinkedIn&utm_tags=
Skydio, the leading U.S. drone manufacturer and world leader in autonomous flight, today announced it has raised $230 million in funding following a year that saw its enterprise customer base exceed 1,200 organizations, just three years after entering the enterprise and public sector market.
Skydio drones are now used by every branch of the U.S. Department of Defense, by over half of all U.S. State Departments of Transportation, by over 200 public safety agencies in 47 states and across more than 60 energy utilities. Additionally, Skydio is used by enterprises in over a dozen other industries. These customers are automating complex inspection tasks and getting situational awareness in life and death situations. On the strength of its autonomy technology, Skydio is now the largest drone manufacturer in the United States.
The $230 million Series E round brings Skydio’s total funding raised to $562 million with a current valuation of over $2.2 billion. Linse Capital led the round, joined by existing investors Andreessen Horowitz, Next47, IVP, DoCoMo, NVIDIA, the Walton Family Foundation and UP.Partners. Skydio also welcomed new investors Hercules Capital and Axon, a technology leader in global public safety and a key Skydio technology partner.
“Drones enable the core industries that our civilization runs on—transportation, public safety, energy, construction, communications, defense, and more—to operate more safely and more efficiently, by putting sensors wherever they’re needed, whenever they’re needed, while keeping people safely on the ground. The transition to autonomy delivers a step change in the accessibility and utility of drones by removing the need for an expert pilot,” said Adam Bry, co-founder and CEO of Skydio. “We are still in the early innings of the industry, but we are seeing extraordinary demand globally from organizations addressing needs important to every citizen.
Today’s funding and expansion news comes on the heels of the announcement of Skydio Dock and Skydio Dock Lite, powered by Skydio’s new Remote Ops software, which enable drones to be flown without an operator on site at all. Skydio also recently launched Regulatory Services which are beginning to break through the Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) barrier with approvals for customers to operate Skydio drones beyond line of sight, including fully remote operations. The combination of technology maturity and regulatory progress for fully autonomous operations marks an inflection point for the industry.
Skydio’s 30x growth over the past three years has led to recognition as the one of the fastest-growing North American companies in the Deloitte Technology Fast 500™ awards. The growth comes against the backdrop of a market that has historically been dominated by manually flown drones made by companies based in China that are beholden to China’s governmental policy. Escalating geo-political tensions have sharpened the need for secure, trustworthy drones to serve critical infrastructure, public safety, and defense customers.
Skydio tackles these challenges with world-leading autonomous flight technology, paired with manufacturing scale in the United States – something many didn’t think was possible in the drone industry just a few years ago. Over the last year, Skydio increased its overall headcount by 40%. Skydio also revealed its new U.S. manufacturing facilities in Hayward, CA, which total over 36,000 square feet, a 10x increase in capacity. To continue to meet demand and support its rapidly growing global customer base, Skydio expects to bring over 150 manufacturing jobs to its facility in Hayward, CA and other U.S. locations.
“Skydio drones are being used to save lives and aid in the maintenance of critical infrastructure in ways that sounded like science fiction just a few years ago,” offered Bastiaan Janmat, Managing Director, Linse Capital. “We couldn’t be more excited to continue our partnership with Skydio as they solidify their position as the world’s most innovative drone technology company.”
“Drones bring substantial value in maintaining public safety, in particular in terms of increasing visibility and providing a first line of communications for first responders. Skydio fills a critical need in making that value more readily accessible to key stakeholders such as law enforcement thanks to the power of autonomy,” said Henrik Kuhl, SVP, Strategy & Corporate Development at Axon. “We are excited to continue our go-to-market and technology partnership with Skydio as we work together to deepen adoption of this technology in public safety.”
After supplying specialist equipment into the CBRN capability for Indonesia’s Mobile Brigade Corps (BRIMOB), EPE International is excited to share a shortened version of BRIMOB’s video, SATUAN KBR. The video showcases the extensive CBRN defence capability Indonesian operators now have to detect, protect and decontaminate when confronted with chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) threats throughout the geographically dispersed cities and provinces of Indonesia.
The events of the Bali bombing and other terrorist acts have heightened the Indonesian government’s emphasis on preparedness for CBRNe threats. CBRN defence has been a growing competence for the past decade with the Indonesian National Police now having one of the largest and most competent CBRN capabilities around. BRIMOB Gegana is a highly trained special operations paramilitary and tactical unit of the Indonesian National Police tasked with specialist operations such as bomb disposal, CBRN handling, counter terrorism, and intelligence.
With international travel restrictions behind us, our team of Through Life Support technicians is back travelling overseas to continue their ongoing training. Training provided and accredited by our global network of OEMs at their facilities in the US, UK, Canada and Europe has enabled our technicians to become leading experts in their fields within the Australian and New Zealand Defence industries. This transfer of specialist expertise to perform comprehensive diagnostics, maintenance, depot level repair and software upgrades in Australia has enabled us to sustain equipment for the entire equipment life cycle. Optimising the performance and life cycle of vital specialist equipment including robots, X-ray, CBRN detectors and electronic counter measures (ECM) ensures our military and police operators have equipment they can rely on in demanding operations. Recent transfer of skills has included: QinetiQ North America TALON and SPUR EOD robots Redwave chemical, explosive, narcotic and gas detectors XplorIR, ThreatID and ProtectIR.
Thanks to Australian Defence Force and Australian Government‘s Skilling Australia’s Defence Industry (SADI) Program that supports the transfer of skills into the Australian defence sector to continue developing this sovereign capability to meet current and future Defence needs.
EPE recently had the privilege of hosting Travis Rideout, Principal Engineer at HDT Global based in the US, and the brains behind the Hunter WOLF UGV. Travis spent the week transferring his expertise to some of EPE’s team of Robotics Technicians and Mechatronics Engineers to assist EPE in improving the sovereign capability to maintain, repair and upgrade complex unmanned systems here in Australia.
The Hunter WOLF is in use in the USA, Australia and in numerous allied forces to support and augment dismounted soldiers. Here in Australia, Australian Defence Force has used this capability as part of the Dismounted Combat Program’s experimentation with uncrewed systems. The Hunter WOLF acts as an exemplar dismounted support vehicle providing logistical support, power, autonomous and Beyond Line of Sight (BLOS) control, utilizing numerous mission payloads to enable soldiers in the field. The experience gained through this experimentation is helping the ADF to understand how it can best utilise unmanned systems in a range of operational scenarios.
EPE recently showcased this capability to Defence through a scenario-based demonstration highlighting the handheld capability of the detector and the increased stand-off ranges achieved through integration onto uncrewed platforms.
The increased use of robotics and autonomous capabilities will fundamentally change the way the Army fights, and this project achieves a number of the Army’s Robotics and Autonomous Systems (RAS) Strategy goals : increasing situational awareness, reducing the soldier’s physical and cognitive workloads, facilitating movement and manoeuvre, increasing reach and range, and force protection, ultimately replacing soldiers in some of the most dangerous tasks.
Adam served in the Armed Forces over a total period of 32 years retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel. He started with an extensive EOD career with the British Army, subsequently in 2007 he was requested to be part of a project to develop Domestic, Expeditionary, and Special Forces CBRNe, IEDD and EOD capabilities for the New Zealand Defence Force.
Adam Commanded E Squadron 1st New Zealand SAS Regt for over five years, during his 13 year career in the Defence Force he represented New Zealand on FVEY and NATO steering groups, technical working groups and International forums. Adam also deployed overseas supporting Interpol and on Special Forces operations to Afghanistan. Adam took a two year sabbatical in 2009 / 2010 to work in support of the United States Government on Special Forces programs.
In March 2020 Adam was seconded from the Defence Force to the New Zealand Ministry of Health to assist with the outbreak of COVID, during this time he deployed to the Pacific as the Mission Lead for the New Zealand Medical Assistance Team. This situation saw Adam retiring from the military as a Lieutenant Colonel, and consequently taking up the role as Director Emergency Management, Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand charged with maintaining the capability and capacity to prevent, protect, mitigate, respond to and recover from natural, and unnatural threats and crises.
During the span of his military career, Adam undertook a range of roles including Leadership, Command, Operational, Scientific Research & Development, Capability Development, and Capability Delivery roles. Adam has experience on a wide range of operational deploymemts that include: Humanitarian Aid & Disater Relief (HADR), De-mining, Biological Chemical Radiological Nuclear (BCMD), Trans-National Crime, Counter-Terrorism, Counter-Proliferation, and Intelligence.
Adam has served in many areas of conflict, danger and unrest, he has deployed on complex multi-national, multi-agency operations all over the world, as part of Special Forces, United Nations, OPCW, Interpol. FBI, FVEY & NATO Militaries and Military Intelligence roles. Adam’s operational tour experiences include: several multiple tours of Northern Ireland, multiple tours of Iraq, Hong Kong, Bosnia, Kosovo, Rwanda, Columbia, Nepal, Cambodia, and numerous tours of Afghanistan.
Honours and Awards – Adam was awarded the George Medal (GM) by Queen Elizabeth II in 2002 for his gallantry Bomb Disposal operations, and most recently he was recognised with the award of the Distinguished Service Decoration (DSD) on the 2021 Queens Birthday Honours. Adam was also recognised for his counter terrorist work globally with a U.S. Bronze Star, U.S. Army Commendation Medal (ACOM) and three FBI Commendations.
Photo 1 from left to right: Rob Edye and Robbie Wild from EPE
Photo 2 : EPE team with Defence Innovation Hub and Army and AFP representatives
With Defence focused on human-machine teaming to remove soldiers and operators from immediate threats, EPE was awarded a Phase 3 Defence Innovation Hub (DIH) Contract to advance the stand-off chemical and explosive detection capability for a maritime boarding party application delivered in the previous phase. The challenge for Phase 3 was to miniaturise the hand-held stand-off Raman (HSR) detection unit and integrate onto uncrewed platforms to increase stand-off to further remove the operator from the threat.
EPE recently showcased this capability to Defence through a scenario-based demonstration highlighting the handheld capability of the detector and the increased stand-off ranges achieved through integration onto uncrewed platforms. Through this, EPE’s team of engineers were able to perform positive identification of threats up to 100m away from operators. In addition, the demonstration highlighted the results that were achieved and verified through independent testing of the detector by Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG). This illustrated the range of threats contained within the HSR library and the distances at which the detector was achieving positive identifications.
EPE’s Innovation Manager, Robbie Wild said, “the miniaturisation of this capability, and the development of a modularised approach to integrating it onto uncrewed systems opens up a variety of possibilities for the deployment and operation of other sensors, which can all successfully contribute to removing humans from threat environments, which is our underlying goal”.
One Army participant at the demonstration commented “The potential from this project is only limited by our creativity”. EPE’s plans for the future of this Project include, increasing stand-off range and trace detection capabilities of the system; looking at using the technology within specific mission sets; and progressing autonomous delivery solutions. This reinforces the importance of Defence’s DIH and the integral role it is playing in the development of innovative Australian sovereign capability.
The increased use of robotics and autonomous capabilities will fundamentally change the way the Army fights, and this project achieves a number of the Army’s Robotics and Autonomous Systems (RAS) Strategy goals : increasing situational awareness, reducing the soldier’s physical and cognitive workloads, facilitating movement and manoeuvre, increasing reach and range, and force protection, ultimately replacing soldiers in some of the most dangerous tasks.
Feature photos : EPE Trusted to Protect
Specialising in chemical bomb disposal during his time in the ADF, Warwick continued to utilise his unique skills in the civilian workforce.
When the company he worked for came up for sale, Warwick made the bold decision to acquire it, using his business acumen to pave the way for consistent growth of EPE. Since then he has grown EPE from 2 to 45 staff, now delivering and supporting protective capability worldwide.
EPE specialise in the provision of complete protective capability solutions for counter improvised explosive devices, explosive ordinance disposal, and electronic counter measure amongst others. They provide support to the Defence Forces and all Police jurisdictions in both Australia and New Zealand, and other government agencies including Attorney-General’s, Home Affairs and Foreign Affairs and Trade.
He credits his core entrepreneurial skills to his defence service, including the importance of being adaptable.
Through his organisation, he has been able to employ veterans from a wide variety of ranks, and believes that his veteran employees bring to the company exceptional leadership skills, work ethic, culture and ethos, giving back to the veteran community where they can.
EPE was also recognised as a finalist for Veteran Employer of the Year – Medium category of the 2020 Prime Minister’s National Veterans’ Employment Awards.
Acknowledgement Department of Veterans’ Affairs media announcement: https://www.veteransemployment.gov.au/winners-finalists/warwick-penrose-epe-explosive-protective-equipment
Over the last 12 years EPE has evolved from a small Australian SME Defence business, into a Group of Companies with separate businesses operating in Australia, New Zealand and the United States. The diverse business ranges from delivering an award-winning prime vendor contract to the New Zealand Defence Force, through to lead commercialisation partner working with CSIRO and DSTG to deliver a revolutionary ‘Broad Spectrum Respiratory Canister’. EPE will translate this technology to design and advanced manufacture activities for the Australian and international markets. Underpinning EPE’s sustained growth is a focus on development and integration of new and emerging technologies that will help Defence become better protected, connected and enabled, to enhance operational outcomes.
Warwick Penrose, Managing Director of the EPE Group of Companies commented “Our purpose is to improve safety and reduce the risk of harm from Explosive, Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and other ‘Improvised’ threats. Robotics and Autonomous Systems (RAS), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), as well as other technologies that optimise human performance are all core parts of our roadmap. To optimise our operating, growth and investment plans across the EPE Group, our Executive Team has appointed a Board of Advisors to provide independent thought governance.”
The Advisory Board is chaired by Chris Otley-Doe and includes Adam Findlay (AO) and Andrew Garth.
Chris previously founded Rubikon which he grew to become a Defence prime vendor, and was Managing Director of Accenture Australia. Chris commented on his role “Relationships are built on trust, loyalty and strong ethical bonds. This is the epitome of EPE which I have known and admired for many years. They have strong bonds with their extensive global supply chain and more importantly the service personnel that are protected by the array of what EPE provides. I’m also attracted by the innovation in a technically challenging environment, with Warwick and his team to be fast adopters of new technology.”
Adam comes to EPE with 37 years of military command experience of both conventional and special forces. He brings an exceptional knowledge of the national security environment at the strategic level, as well as close links to a generation of military leaders across the region. His senior appointments include as the Commander of all coalition Special Forces in Iraq that culminated in the liberation of Mosul from ISIS in 2017; and from 2017 to 2020 as Special Operations Commander – Australia (SOCAUST). Adam is now a Professor of Practice in Defence and Regional Security. He is also the Director of the Griffith University Defence Network (GDNet) where he leads a team that links Griffith University’s leading researchers and educators with Defence, Defence Industry and other universities to enhance national security capabilities.
In discussing why he welcomed the opportunity to join the EPE advisory board, Adam commented, “As Special Operations Commander I first got to know EPE as a company that was respected for their support, attitude and quality of their equipment that enhanced operational capabilities and protected ADF lives across the CBRNE spectrum. My ongoing interest in EPE is to enhance their development of sovereign national security capabilities to better enable and protect the warfighter. My contribution to EPE will be through linking my deep knowledge of the threat environment and ‘user requirement’ combined with my detailed understanding of the world-leading foundational scientific research currently being conducted across Australian universities.”
Andrew brings diverse leadership experience from both Defence industry and Government. This includes being a key team member that developed the 2016 Defence Industry Policy Statement and then establishing the Centre for Defence Industry Capability (CDIC) which has now transitioned to ODIS.
Throughout Andrew’s time in Government and business, he has been extensively involved in guiding hundreds of SMEs through to success and growth in the Defence market. He has firsthand insight into the organisational factors that consistently lead to success, and he is excited to bring this experience to EPE.
Andrew commented “Defence industry makes a significant contribution to Defence capability and the protection of our service men and women. This is absolutely exemplified in the work that EPE undertakes. Critically as EPE grows it’s becoming a globally recognised Prime Systems Integrator, bringing together the best of world leading technologies while working with local industry and research organisations to create genuine sovereign industrial capabilities. This outcome is a key objective of industry policy and Defence need.”
EPE’s Advisory Board has intentionally been structured so EPE can further minimise risk and better meet the protection needs of Australia and our allies.
Queensland has significant industry and research strengths in robotic and autonomous systems and the state government has identified this as a key growth sector.
Two of the keys to safe growth in this sector, however, are finding space to test the technology along with creating a regulatory framework that ensures safety and a harmonious coexistence. This is where Queensland’s wide open spaces, on land and at sea, come in.
The existing portfolio of ships’ Collision Avoidance regulations, or COLREGS, needed to be rethought to accommodate Uncrewed Surface and Undersea Vessels (USVs and UUVs).
The Brisbane-based Trusted Autonomous Systems Defence Cooperative Research Centre, or TAS DCRC, found itself leading the world in doing this, according to its CEO, Glen Schafer.
The TAS DCRC, established with support from both the Department of Defence’s Next Generation Technologies Fund and the Queensland government, is designed to help develop next-generation autonomous and robotic technologies and generally enhance the competitiveness of the sector.
Developing new COLREGS and a regulatory environment for autonomous and robotic vessels is a vital step towards bringing them into widespread service and forms part of the TAS DCRC’s Assurance of Autonomy activity, sponsored by the Queensland government. The TAS DCRC’s Robotic & Autonomous Systems Gateway is designed to help Australian researchers and companies navigate the regulatory framework with greater certainty and efficiency, Schafer told The Australian.
The TAS DCRC released the Australian Code of Practice for building and operating autonomous and remotely operated vessels in May, along with the COLREGS Operator Guidance Framework, a world first.
These were showcased and put to the test by nine USVs at the international Maritime Showcase which preceded the TAS DCRC’s Autonomous Vessel Forum last month on the Great Barrier Reef.
This was the first significant commercial demonstration of multiple autonomous vessels in Australia, says Schafer, and highlighted both the rapid growth in technology and the need for a renewed regulatory environment.
The Queensland government has also partnered with the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) whose new ReefWorks tropical marine test range, opened in January this year, hosted the Maritime Showcase.
ReefWorks is based near Townsville, close to the Great Barrier Reef.
It is the world’s only marine tropical test facility in the world and so enables testing of marine technologies, uncrewed systems and new sensors in a tropical marine environment.
ReefWorks actually consists of three separate ranges covering several thousand square kilometres: a coastal range adjacent to its Townsville headquarters at Cape Cleveland; one on the Reef itself; and a third on the outer Reef and the deep water at the edge of Australia’s continental shelf.
Also in May, ReefWorks hosted two Remotely Operated Vessels (ROV) participating in the RAN’s EX Autonomous Warrior – these were controlled from the Autonomous Warrior command centre 1800km away in Jervis Bay.
EX Autonomous Warrior is the RAN’s main program for trialling potential robotic and autonomous systems, both on the surface and underwater, along with artificial intelligence capabilities.
Queensland’s long-term investment in autonomous systems research is designed to support the development and testing of new uncrewed systems across all three domains.
The TAS DCRC and ReefWorks exist alongside the Queensland Flight Test Range at Cloncurry and the MILTECS land equipment test facility in South East Queensland, all supported by the Queensland government.
Collectively, they are designed to facilitate the regulatory reforms necessary to ensure Australia and the rest of the world adopt autonomous and robotic systems safely and position Queensland as a power in a global, emerging market.
Acknowledgement: The Australian :https://www-theaustralian-com-au.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.theaustralian.com.au/special-reports/wide-open-spaces-support-drone-development/news-story/49215b9879f948e939a8bdc93e1a38e6?amp
Australian Veteran Entrepreneur Warwick Penrose has been acknowledged for his entrepreneurial spirit, passion and commitment to business in Australia. Warwick is honoured to be named as a Finalist for 2022’s Veteran Entrepreneur of the Year for leading the EPE Group of Companies.
Established under the Prime Minister’s National Veterans’ Employment Program, the Awards recognise national contribution in veteran employment. The inaugural Veteran ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ award recognises outstanding achievement by a veteran creating opportunity for Australia through entrepreneurship.
EPE has grown from humble beginnings in a ‘home office’ with 2 staff around Warwick’s pool table and sub $2.5 million annual revenues. Today as a medium sized Australian defence industry partner with offices in Australia, New Zealand and the United States, employing a team of 45-50 people with revenue of $40m, EPE’s Group of Companies delivers capabilities worldwide.
EPE’s purpose is to enable and protect Australia and its allies to safely operate in harmful environments. EPE’s predominantly veteran workforce brings a unique skillset in Counter-IED and Counter-Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Improvised Threats, gained from supporting operations across Australia’s Five Eyes and NATO partners. Warwick elaborated on this “EPE applies our domain knowledge to assist our clients to achieve their missions. I was very fortunate with my own Defence experience, having a number of postings with the sole focus to establish new capabilities, very rapidly.”
The company’s growth has enabled a focus on innovation and developing emerging technologies that will help defence become better protected, connected and enabled. Warwick continued “We’ve partnered with Australia’s national research agency, CSIRO and have invested to build EPE’s MILTECS Test & Evaluation facilities. MILTECS supports several defence Sovereign Industrial Capability Priorities (SICP’s) and has successfully expanded Australia’s test and evaluation eco-system. These facilities are now being used by defence, defence industry and our research partners to accelerate the delivery of new technologies into the hands of Australian troops and our allied partners.”
“As an individual I’m honoured to be a veteran of the Australian Army, but acknowledgement as a finalist in this award also belongs to my team of veterans and our entire team,” he said.
Announcing the partnership at Land Forces 2022 in Brisbane, the two organisations will collaborate on the development of autonomous technologies through BAE Systems’ Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) program, which began this year.
Focused on implementing BAE Systems’ advanced vehicle management systems on to UGVs, the collaboration with EPE aims to develop soldier support systems for the Australian Army.
As Australian agents to the HDT Hunter WOLF (Wheeled Offload Logistics Follower) UGV platform, EPE was initially contracted to provide platform, integration and engineering support as well as test facilities, using the company’s state-of-the-art UGV test and evaluation facilities in south-east Queensland.
Operating within a multi-domain autonomy architecture, the program focuses on the integration of UGV mission systems to enable prototyping that will develop certifiable mission systems.
BAE Systems Australia, Managing Director for Defence Delivery, Andrew Gresham said:
“We are pleased to partner with EPE to help develop and grow sovereign autonomous capability here in Australia.”
“It’s critical for businesses like ours to collaborate with Australian industry so we can successfully support the ADF and, working with companies such as EPE provides opportunities to work as one team, creating an environment that fosters innovation.”
“Having access to the EPE’s unmanned ground vehicle platform and magnificent test facilities here in South-East Queensland has helped us make significant advances in ground autonomy technology, and we look forward to furthering this work together.”
BAE Systems Australia is an industry partner and the Land Domain Lead to government agency Trusted Autonomous Systems Defence Cooperative Research Centre. Commercialisation of this technology will be accelerated through these collaborations.
EPE’s Director Innovation and Commercialisation Ben Sorensen said:
“It’s been an extremely positive experience working with BAE Systems on a shared pursuit of a multi-domain, collaborative and autonomous robotics for Defence at our MILTECS test and assurance facility.
“Our technical teams are working collaboratively, both virtually and face-to-face, to advance the technology, enhance capability and significantly de-risk future Defence programs.”
As the political environment shifts across the globe, it brings with it new security challenges. Advances in technology are enabling innovation. Australia’s Defence requirements must also adapt.
While robotics and the development of autonomous defence systems are rapidly advancing, Defence specialist EPE is looking to do much more than simply keep up with the rest of the world.
EPE’s Director Innovation and Commercialisation, Ben Sorensen, explains that with partners such as CSIRO, the company is working at the forefront of technology to deliver new capabilities for customers.
“We’re fortunate, because Queensland has grown some world-leading technology capabilities,” Sorensen said.
“Autonomous systems technologies developed right here in Brisbane have been recognised by the US Department of Defense and Defence Primes as some of the best in the world.”
With the help of a Sovereign Industrial Capability Priority grant of $1.4 million, the Australian company has delivered a Military Training, Evaluation, Certification and Systems Assurance facility, better known as MILTECS, in South East Queensland.
MILTECS is a specialised unmanned systems training and testing facility just west of Brisbane built to help Defence, Emergency Services, industry and researchers test and build capabilities to counter Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) and explosive threats in a representative environment.
“It’s really about assurance at the end of the day. That what you are developing is fit-for-purpose, that it’s going to be safe and it’s the sort of thing that we can also adopt and employ as novel capabilities to enable warfighters and emergency responders.
“Our customers and our partners are all focused on cutting-edge technology and working in environments which are extremely challenging. I certainly think that our technology and our partnerships are really pushing that edge out further.
“Our innovation work is focused on enabling and protecting people in dangerous environments. We’ve been doing work integrating sensors, and autonomy capabilities with tracked, wheeled, legged and flying robotic platforms.”
EPE’s MILTECS Manager, Dean Beaumont, says the MILTECS sites located in Queensland’s south east corner, at CSIRO’s Queensland Centre for Advanced Technologies at Pullenvale and Helidon are supporting the development of human-machine teaming.
“We’ve really seen a dramatic increase in the practical testing and validation of UGVs and UAVs over the past 6 months, compared to recent years,” Beaumont said.
“Current world events are probably supporting this growth in interest and innovation, as is the need for commercial organisations to explore new ways to use robotics to enable people and keep them safe in potentially dangerous environments.”
Beaumont says the location of MILTECS is a factor in its current and future success.
“With Defence, we have bases at Amberley and Enoggera that geographically suit our location. Brisbane based Emergency Services and commercial primes are also located in close proximity to the MILTECS sites, ensuring easy access to the purpose built facilities.
“There hasn’t been a lot of red tape to set our facilities up in accordance with Queensland and Commonwealth Government requirements and legislation. We have been able to achieve all of our planned outcomes.”
Sorensen agrees.
“The south east corner of Queensland is the centre of gravity for robotics and autonomy in the country.
“There’s a critical mass of Research and Industry working together, and that seems to have created some good conditions for growth in this area.”
He says that the importance of State Government strategic policy as an enabler to allow industries to support growth shouldn’t be downplayed.
“We know support for Defence and Defence Industry is central to the Queensland Government policy, and that supports us to do our work.”
This alignment with the Defence Industries 10-year Roadmap and Action Plan reinforces the value of the strategic vision of the Queensland Government to support the growth of the defence industry.
EPE isn’t alone in autonomous defence development in Queensland.
Cloncurry, in the state’s west, is home to the Queensland Flight Test Range – Australia’s first commercial testing facility for uncrewed aerial systems. This facility enables industry to undertake testing and evaluation of new platforms and payloads, a critical requirement to Australia achieving sovereign capability.
Queensland is also home to the $50 million Trusted Autonomous Systems Defence Cooperative Research Centre, which is driving the development of game-changing drone and robotics technology for the Australian Defence Force, and enabling greater insights into the assurance processes necessary to ensure the safe application of new such technologies.
Additionally, the Queensland Government in partnership with the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) is funding the extension of a unique marine technology testing infrastructure and capability to support autonomous maritime (surface and underwater) systems at different levels of technology readiness. In May this year, the tropical marine test range, known as Reefworks, hosted elements of Navy’s Autonomous Warrior exercise, with Australian designed and built uncrewed vessels controlled from Navy’s Autonomous Warrior command centre in Jervis Bay.
The State Government also attracted Boeing Defence Australia to headquarter in Queensland along with its subsidiary Insitu Pacific.
In 2022, Insitu Pacific was selected to deliver 24 ‘Integrator’ tactical uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) under Land 129 phase 3 to the Australian Army, estimated to be worth approximately $307 million. The platforms are set to be manufactured from the company’s facility in Brisbane, with delivery expected in 2023 and 2024.
EPE also partnered with Insitu Pacific, Urban Circus and Downer to make up the all-Queensland Muskito Team which delivered to the Defence Innovation Hub a technology demonstrator for unmanned CIED route clearance and route proving, through detection, discrimination, location and reporting to provide timely, accurate tactical decision-making.
The State’s proximity to the Indo-Asia-Pacific region and its long history of military presence, makes it ideally placed to work with Defence industries to promote security and stability in the region and strengthen sovereign capabilities.
“Government has recognised that the capabilities that we’re developing at EPE and at MILTECS are sovereign capabilities” Sorensen said.
“We’re working to develop human and autonomous systems capability and capacity, and commercial opportunities to supply the ADF and export markets.”
EPE’s MILTECS builds on Queensland’s track record in delivering the most advanced, large-scale military manufacturing projects including vehicles and munitions, as well as research capability, skills, facilities and supply chains ready for service.
Acknowledgement Defence Connect: https://www.defenceconnect.com.au/key-enablers/10580-queensland-leading-the-way-in-autonomous-defence-systems
Ben Sorensen joined EPE in August 2022 and brings over 26 years of commercial experience to EPE. Ben leads EPE Innovation and is focused on delivering game-changing capabilities and competitive advantage for Australia.
Ben has led commercial R&D activities for CSIRO’s Data61, with responsibility for enterprise, defence and national security collaborations. He has worked extensively with defence research and development, including with the ADF, DSTG, DARPA, US Army and defence and aerospace Primes to develop and commercialise capabilities in robotics, autonomous systems, cyber security, data, AI and analytics. Most recently Ben was an executive and board director of the $100 million Cyber Security Cooperative Research Centre.
Earlier, Ben established and operated the Queensland Innovation Hub with PwC and the Queensland Government, and taught corporate venturing and disruptive innovation leadership at the QUT Graduate School of Business. He has been a member of public company executive teams (ASX:AAC, ASX:GOW), and has consulted to investment funds and investee companies. Ben has established and run intellectual property and manufacturing businesses, raised capital, and has been commercial manager for a global technology business.
Outside of EPE, Ben advises boards, invests in impact-focused technology start-ups, and has been a judge for innovation for the Brisbane Lord Mayor’s Business Awards since 2015.
Ben is an author and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
EPE today announced its partnership with Skydio, the leading U.S. drone manufacturer and world leader in autonomous flight, to offer its autonomous Skydio X2D defence drone to customers in Australia and New Zealand.
‘Our missions align, EPE’s focus is to protect our soldiers and first responders through innovative solutions’ said the Australian veteran owner of EPE, Warwick Penrose.
EPE is providing leading technologies into Defence’s Experimentation Teams in the area of Human Machine Teaming and the Skydio X2D meets current reconnaissance and surveillance requirements to counter emerging threats.
In February 2022, the Skydio X2D system was selected for the U.S. Army’s Short Range Reconnaissance (SRR) Program of Record. Leveraging Skydio Autonomy, the world’s leading AI-driven flight autonomy software, the Skydio X2D is the ultimate solution for military customers to perform reconnaissance, search and rescue, and security patrol missions. Designed, assembled, and supported in the USA, it complies with rigorous supply chain security requirements and offers superior cybersecurity protection.
About Skydio
Skydio is the leading U.S. drone manufacturer and world leader in autonomous flight. Skydio leverages breakthrough AI to create the world’s most intelligent flying machines for use by consumer, enterprise, and government customers. Founded in 2014, Skydio is made up of leading experts in AI, robotics, cameras, and electric vehicles from top companies, research labs, and universities from around the world. Skydio designs, assembles, and supports its products in the U.S. from its headquarters in Redwood City, CA, to offer the highest standards of supply chain and manufacturing security. Skydio is trusted by leading enterprises across a wide range of industry sectors and is backed by top investors and strategic partners including Andreesen Horowitz, Levitate Capital, Next47, IVP, Playground, and NVIDIA.
Rigaku Analytical Devices, a pioneer in handheld 1064 nm Raman spectroscopy, announces the release of a new software version for their ResQ CQL product line. The Rigaku ResQ CQL 2.0 analyzer delivers an upgraded graphical user interface (GUI) providing a more streamlined workflow making it even easier to use, coupled with algorithm enhancements – including the analysis of mixtures.
The ResQ CQL, released in 2018, was based on Rigaku’s award-winning original ResQ 1064 nm Raman analyzer platform. The ResQ CQL offers users advanced analytical chemical identification using the advantage of 1064 nm Raman laser excitation which reduces fluorescence interference, in a new tactical form factor. With thousands of units successfully deployed around the world, first responders, border protection, law enforcement, and the military have chosen Rigaku’s handheld Raman portfolio to rapidly identify chemical threats – such as explosives, chemical warfare agents (CWAs), precursors, hazardous chemicals, narcotics, and more – in high stress environments.
The ResQ CQL 2.0 is the next generation of analyzers approved by the U.S. DoD JPEO DR SKO Program and delivers features including:
“The goal of this new software was really to improve the overall user experience overall,” said Chris Langford, VP Marketing & Product Management. “We wanted to reduce the cognitive load on the operator by having them make fewer decisions and do less configuring of settings in order to perform a high-quality scan. We want a “push button, get answer” workflow with reliable results every time.”
Current users of the ResQ CQL can expect to receive this software upgrade free of charge.
For more information on the ResQ CQL 2.0, or to request the software, please visit our Product page.
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) could be delivering supplies and doing casualty evacuations within five to 10 years, if concepts at this year’s Army Innovation Day come to fruition.
Ahead of the day, a tender was released for logistics UAV concepts to fill a capability gap of flying certain weights over set distances.
Army received 55 responses and 18 were selected to exhibit during Innovation Day.
Some concepts filled the heavy category of flying 800 kilograms over 200 kilometres, others aimed to meet the 35 kilograms over 100-kilometre category, while designs to fly 200 kilograms over 180 kilometres filled the casualty evacuation role.
Brigadier Warren Gould, Director General of Systems and Integration in Army Headquarters, said Army was looking at what was achievable, despite logistics UAVs not being a fully mature capability.
“It’s about developing concepts. Each of these are at a different level of maturity and thinking,” he said.
“None are going to lead to a delivery of immediate capability in the next 12-24 months. It’s about developing technology that has a path into a major project in future years.”
Innovation Days, held since 2016, ask industry to address a theme, receive responses, compare and narrow down selections.
Brigadier Gould said this improved on old methods of relying on industry to submit ideas and concepts.
“Here, we see them all together but we also demonstrate their wares to wider Army,” he said.
“If we were just looking at an idea in Army HQ, it would get a bit isolated, but in a public event like this with all of Army, we’re able to discuss in the margins and get different points of view.”
From here, concepts presented will be further assessed by Brigadier Gould’s team and the Defence Innovation Hub to see how likely they are to achieve benchmarks.
Successful respondents will be announced in September.
Following last year’s Innovation Day, Army entered into contracts with two companies developing alternate power supplies.
“With Army Innovation Day, we get an early view of what industry is thinking. We are able to give them guidance if they are on track with something we are interested in,” Brigadier Gould said.
“We’re able to focus energy and capacity into what could be a good idea.
“I’d like to thank the Defence Innovation Hub for their support and contracting methods to contract successful tenderers.”
Acknowledgement Australian Defence News: https://www.csiro.au/en/news/News-releases/2022/Worlds-best-respirator
What a great format #CAS2022 provided to demonstrate emerging Australian human machine teaming capabilities. Thanks to Australian Army organisers of #ARX2022 and #AID2022, industry genuinely appreciates the opportunity to showcase and engage.
Great opportunity to brief the Chief of Army, Lieutenant General Simon Stuart, AO, DSC on the EPE. Trusted To Protect and Freespace Operations Australian sovereign solution to meet the #AID Logistic UAS challenge.
Partnership between Australian company EPE and US company Shield AI brings the drone named by joint US and Israeli forces as the ‘most mission capable indoor drone’ to Australia and New Zealand.
EPE announced its partnership with Shield AI, the fast-growing defense technology company building AI pilots for aircraft, to deliver its next era of AI to the Australian and New Zealand markets.
The clear synergies between Shield AI and Australian-veteran-owned EPE are evident – a shared mission to protect our soldiers underpinned by a commitment to innovative solutions. EPE is providing leading technologies into Defence’s Experimentation Teams in the area of Human Machine Teaming, in addition to the delivery of 5 Defence Innovation Hub Projects which developed innovative solutions to counter emerging threats.
Shield AI’s Nova 2 drone uses state-of-the-art path planning and computer vision algorithms to autonomously navigate complex subterranean and multi-story buildings without GPS, communications or a human pilot.
EPE will feature the Nova 2 at the Army Robotics Exposition (ARX) in Adelaide this week as part of the Chief of Army Symposium.
The Rigaku ResQ CQL 1064 nm handheld Raman analyzer will be deployed globally as part of the U.S. Dismounted Reconnaissance Sets, Kits, and Outfits (DR SKO) Program
Wilmington, MA (June 1, 2022) – Rigaku Analytical Devices, a U.S.-based leading pioneer of handheld 1064 nm-Raman based spectrometers, is pleased to announce the Rigaku ResQ CQL 1064 nm Raman analyzer has been accepted for chemical identification as part of the U.S. Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense (JPEO CBRND) Program to modernize the military’s Dismounted Reconnaissance Sets, Kits and Outfits (DR SKO) systems. The DR SKO System Modernization program deploys new and improved kits of technology to Department of Defense (DoD) locations around the world for characterization of suspected chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) hazards.
Rigaku’s original handheld 1064 nm Raman-based analyzer, the ResQ, was selected into this program in 2019 as part of a tech refresh program led by the DoD’s JPEO-CBRND Program. Following extensive head-to-head evaluations of a variety of technologies, Rigaku’s portfolio was chosen based on its accuracy, ease of use, ruggedness, and features.
The Rigaku ResQ CQL analyzer was launched in 2018, and offers users advanced analytical chemical analysis in a new, tactical form factor. Rigaku’s 1064 nm Raman-based technology is in use by first responders, border protection, law enforcement, and the military located around the world for identifying chemical threats – such as explosives, chemical warfare agents (CWAs), precursor chemicals, household hazardous chemicals, narcotics, and more.
Unique features to the Rigaku product line include 4C Technology which monitors individual results for precursors that could be used in recipes to manufacture greater threats. The optional QuickDetect Mode allows for the detection of non-visible amounts of a substance based on automated colorimetric technology available on-board the ResQ CQL. This provides both detection and identification on one device – not available on any other Raman analyzer.
“Rigaku is at the forefront of chemical threat analysis,” said Bree Allen, President of Rigaku Analytical Devices. “The ResQ CQL represents the next advancement in our product portfolio, and we are proud it will be part of the new chemical response toolkits used by our defense forces.
The ResQ CQL analyzer is supported by Rigaku’s global sales and support distribution channels, offering 24/7 Reachback support, library updates and software upgrades for the life of the analyzer.
For more information on the ResQ CQL, please visit https://www.epequip.com/catalogue/all-hazards-cbrne/detection-diagnostics/chemical/resq-cql/
Rigaku Analytical Devices is leading with innovation to pioneer a portfolio of handheld and portable spectroscopic analyzers for use in public health and safety, scientific and academic study, recycling and reuse of metal alloys, and to ensure the quality of key metal alloy components in critical industries. We strive to deliver quality, reliability and engaged expertise to our customers with our advanced product and capabilities and are dedicated to continual product development efforts to deliver mission critical enhancements to performance and functionality and reliable, cost-effective solutions for end users. Our rugged products operate on an open architecture platform and deliver unparalleled accuracy and support for rapid lab-quality results any time, any place.
Homeland security company RedWave Technology is introducing the XplorIR, the most innovative gas-identification system specifically developed for today’s emergency response missions.
The XplorIR can identify over 5,500 gases at low part per million (ppm) concentrations. It is the first handheld FTIR identification tool with this breadth and sensitivity. The lightweight device can be used on scene, measuring the gas at its source. The XplorIR can identify many dangerous gases, including toxic industrial compounds (TICs), flammables, corrosives, industrial gases, and many other chemicals at operationally relevant levels.
Jon Frattaroli, CEO of RedWave Technology stated, “Teams around the country told us that they needed technology that could quickly and accurately identify a wide range of toxic gases. This capability gap directly affects their ability to quickly mitigate threats. We undertook the development of the XplorIR with the simple focus of creating a chemical analyzer that could keep responders and their communities safer from dangerous gases.”
While teams have many tools to detect an unknown gas, there is no compelling technology that allows responders to quickly identify a gas with a high level of accuracy. With the XplorIR, emergency response teams can quickly identify exactly what gas they are encountering so they can develop a mitigation plan.
John Seelenbinder, Director of Product Development at Redwave added, “The core technology behind the XplorIR is FTIR spectroscopy; it has been used for more than 20 years in homeland security applications. Advancements in both optical design and computational algorithms provide unprecedented performance, allowing operation in the most rigorous conditions. The XplorIR was designed for emergency responders with significant input from emergency response teams around the country.”
Seelenbinder explained that emergency response teams never know what they are going to encounter and they need to be prepared for an unbelievably wide range of threats, whether it’s common industrial gas or even a large-scale terrorist event.
“Identification of the dangers present is a fundamental need in emergency response. The XplorIR now allows chemical identification of gases with a speed and simplicity never before achievable,” Frattaroli said.
RedWave Technology also builds the ThreatID, a portable chemical threat identifier that can identify thousands of gas, powder, and liquid threats all in one device. It has been the fastest-growing FTIR-based threat identifier for the past three years.
For more information about the XplorIR, visit https://redwavetech.com/xplorir.
Acknowledgement RedWave media announcement: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/redwave-technology-introduces-the-xplorir-the-only-handheld-system-that-can-identify-up-to-5-500-gases-in-seconds-301552473.html
Ben joins EPE following 17 years of service within the Australian Army, including a decade of specialisation within the Defence complex procurement environment.
Ben ‘s early career saw him undertake regimental and training command postings within the Royal Australian Armoured Corps. Following operational deployment with the Special Operations Task Group Ben worked within the Combat Training Centre assisting in the pre-deployment training & certification for higher headquarter units.
Since 2013, after specialising in Defence complex procurement, Ben was employed in Project Management and Test & Evaluation Management positions within three of the Australian Army’s largest projects, culminating as the Director Test & Evaluation of the Special Operations Programme. Ben has a vast knowledge of the ADFs capability acquisition structure, policies and processes. He holds a Masters of Capability Management and a Masters of Systems Engineering.
After a year of unprecedented demand for RedWave Technology’s chemical threat detection products in the US, RedWave has appointed EPE as their exclusive distributor in Australia and New Zealand. The partnership is part of RedWave’s rapid expansion into the international market outside of the US.
RedWave selected EPE for its expertise in chemical threat detection, known in the Australian and New Zealand markets for the technical support they provide, integrity, and proven commitment to protecting the first responder community.
Jon Frattaroli, CEO of Redwave Technology commented, “We have seen incredible demand in the US for our ThreatID chemical identifier as it is the only analyser that is capable of identifying thousands of gas, powder, and liquid threats all in one device.” Frattaroli continued, “Its ability to identify 5,500 gases and vapours and over 22,000 powders and liquids represents a leap forward in protecting our first responders from chemicals, narcotics, and explosives.”
‘EPE is confident that the ThreatID will provide a much-needed capability enhancement in the field-based identification of gas compounds for our first responder community in Australia and New Zealand’, commented Dave Byrne, EPE’s specialist CBRNe Capability Manager.
RedWave Technology is a Homeland Security company based in Danbury, CT whose mission is to protect our nation by developing state of the art detection technology for America and its allies.
EPE provides CBRN defence (CBRND), Counter IED, and Force Protection solutions and support to Australian and New Zealand First Responders, Defence Forces, Law Enforcement, and other government agencies. We are former Counter IED specialists with real world operational experience. We understand how the specialist equipment is used and more importantly, the demands placed on equipment and operators in the current ‘high-threat’ environments in which they may be deployed.
Australian Defence Magazine (ADM) has released their 2021 rankings which identifies the Top Contractors to the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and New Zealand Defence Force.
In the Top 20 ANZ SME ranking (which includes only Australian and New Zealand owned and operated suppliers) EPE ranked 12th and in the Top SME suppliers, EPE ranked 17th. EPE’s consistent position in these rankings since 2011, demonstrates our solid commitment to provide solutions to protect ADF and NZDF personnel. The year represented another period of strong growth for EPE, with significant increase in revenue and staff numbers doubling from 20 to 41.
As an Australian veteran owned and managed small business, EPE’s strength has always been our unique ability to be agile and responsive to our customers’ requirements while delivering world-leading solutions, supported by domestic Through Life Support and specialist training.
Originally published on FireHouse.
The partners were chosen for their expertise in chemical threat detection and are known in their local markets for the technical support they provide, analytical proficiency and integrity.
After a year of unprecedented domestic demand for RedWave Technology’s chemical threat detection products, RedWave has announced its plans to rapidly expand into international markets effective immediately.
Jon Frattaroli, RedWave Technology’s CEO, stated, “A combination of increasing demand for our ThreatID as well as our expanded manufacturing capabilities has made it clear to us that now is the time to expand the availability of our products outside of the United States. The ThreatID has become the fastest-growing chemical threat identifier on the market and we feel a responsibility to bring this technology to the rest of the world in order to keep our communities safe from chemical threats.”
RedWave said the partners were chosen for their expertise in chemical threat detection and are known in their local markets for the technical support they provide, analytical proficiency and integrity. They are:
“RedWave has the needs and interests of our first responders at the centre of everything we do, so by choosing to expand outside of the United States, we will not compromise on how we train, support and engage with our end-users. We made a conscious decision to select the best partners that will provide that same level of support, responsiveness and focus that we do in the U.S.,” Frattaroli added. “RedWave partners offer a breadth of products, services and application knowledge to ensure the first responders, customs and postal inspectors, law enforcement, forensics investigations, and CBRNe chemical response and defence personnel have the best tools for threat identification at their fingertips.”
Since its launch in 2020, RedWave’s ThreatID, which can identify thousands of gas, powder and liquid threats all in one device, has become the fastest-growing FTIR-based chemical threat identifier in the world.
To learn more about RedWave Technology’s global partners, visit redwavetech.com.
About RedWave Technology
RedWave Technology is a Homeland Security company based in Danbury, CT whose mission is to protect our nation by developing state of the art detection technology for America and its allies.
Russ Smith joined the EPE team in September 2021 as the Through Life Support Manager. Russ Smith is a Project Management and Integrated Logistics Support professional with over 13 years experience within the Corps of Royal Australian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers.
During his time in the military he was employed at a range of levels from tactical through to Operational and Strategic, specialising in maintenance management and Logistic Framework establishment in the Land and Joint domains.
Russ has a vast knowledge of the ADF structure, policy, systems and processes. Russ holds a Diploma of Material Logistics, a Bachelor of Arts, as well as a Masters of Project Management
Joe joined EPE in August 2021 as part of the newly formed Project Delivery function. He comes to us with over 9 years Defence experience, gained working for CASG and Defence primes in Procurement and Contracting roles. He holds Project Management (PRINCE2) and Procurement (MCIPS) qualifications and has a wide-ranging experience in engaging with Defence stakeholders and delivering Defence capability spanning across multiple domains.
ARMY has taken a step closer to making the interaction with robots a regular occurrence for soldiers in the field.
Land Capability Division’s Robotics and Autonomous Systems Implementation and Coordination Office (RICO) has trialled small remotely guided ground robots, known as RGVs, with 1, 2 and 3 Combat Engineer Regiments.
The purpose of the four-week trial was to assess at unit-level the potential of RGVs to enhance situational awareness for Force Elements, particularly in confined spaces, areas contested by unmanned aerial systems, or in GPS-denied environments.
Director RICO Col Robin Smith said Army continues to move forward with disruptive technology.
“The use of small robots is an important step in our goal of harnessing cutting-edge technology in order to be ready to face whatever challenges are heading towards us,” Col Smith said.
The evaluation was conducted throughout November through a “learn by doing” approach, with RGVs being employed in the full range of combat functions and directed tasks, to examine their utility, force protection and efficiency compared to existing surveillance and reconnaissance methods.
CO 3CER Lt-Col Ken Golder said robotics was a very real game-changer for the way Army will do business and fight in the future.
“Robots will have a big influence on how we operate, such as helping to keep soldiers out of harm’s way,” Lt-Col Golder said.
“That’s one of the big advantages we will reap, through greater situational awareness coupled with improved force protection.”
The month-long testing and evaluation trial was held in combination with routine training activities across the full range of combat functions and directed tasks, to examine the RGVs’ capability relating to force protection, and efficiencies compared to existing surveillance and reconnaissance methods.
Testing and evaluation included dense vegetation and dead ground, which inhibits UAS use, along with culverts and tunnels, plus deception, reconnaissance and demonstration tasks.
The evaluation identified potential user case scenarios, and will inform user requirements of future robotic and autonomous systems being considered by Land Programs.
The evaluation also demonstrated potential TTPs using RGVs, and demonstrated potential future operational force structures that will be required, particularly in terms of skills, training and workforce considerations necessary to employ the systems.
Article Written by Sqn-Ldr John Yialeloglou and published in Army News Edition 1503, published on December 09, 2021.
The Defence Minister, the Hon Peter Dutton and the Assistant Minister for Waste Reduction and Environmental Management, the Hon Trevor Evans toured EPE’s Headquarters in Brisbane gaining an understanding of the sovereign capability being delivered to Defence by EPE. EPE also showcased MILTECS, EPE’s new Military Training, Evaluation, Certification and Systems Assurance Proving Grounds.
The facility provides an exemplar of a successful public, private and research partnership utilising a combination of Defence SICP funding and private funding from EPE, while optimising and expanding the existing CSIRO / DATA 61 facilities at the Queensland Centre for Advance Technologies (QCAT), Pullenvale, Brisbane. EPE’s strategic Research partner CSIRO’s DATA 61, also updated the Ministers regarding their team’s recent success in the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Subterranean Challenge for robots.
The Managing Director of EPE, Warwick Penrose speaking about the new MILTECS facility and the planned second phase, said “The ADF is preparing for high-intensity conflict and grey- zone operations against peer adversaries who are not constrained in their use of CBRN agents & ethical use of Unmanned Systems, Machine Learning and AI. To counter these increasingly lethal capabilities, EPE is contributing to the further development of sovereign capability to integrate and test a range of leading-edge technologies.
An Australian-first facility to provide standardised testing of robotics is now open for business in Queensland. The purpose-built centre is part of a research and development partnership between defence solutions provider EPE and Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, based at CSIRO’s site in Pullenvale, outside Brisbane.
The MILTECS (Military Test, Evaluation, Certification and Systems Assurance) facility was developed in response to industry calls for a proving ground for field robotics and will carry out standardised testing across industries including defence, law enforcement, agriculture, manufacturing and mining to help drive Australia’s sovereign industrial capability.
The project is funded by EPE and the Defence Sovereign Industrial Capability Priority (SICP) Program, with partnership support from CSIRO.
EPE Managing Director Warwick Penrose said the collaborative partnership will enable advanced R&D into human-robot teaming in dynamic unstructured environments and provide the essential validation to ensure the capabilities provided to Defence today also meet future threats.
“The facility is a genuine example of how a joint investment by Government and industry combined with collaborative partnership with the research sector delivers critical Defence capability outcomes,” Mr Penrose said.
The facility incorporates two proving grounds: a robotics terrain park outfitted with vehicles, stairs, pipes, inclines and unstructured terrains (grass, gravel, rocks, trees, etc) and a NIST (U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology) certified obstacle course; and Counter IED Detection and training lanes for mounted and dismounted search.
The MILTECS facility also extends over two other sites with a Threat Mitigation Proving Ground at Helidon in the Lockyer Valley and Test Labs at EPE’s Brisbane facility.
The entire facility includes:
The collaboration between EPE and CSIRO will leverage knowledge and experience gained by EPE from international best practice through NIST test methods, and CSIRO’s world-leading robotics, navigation and surveying capabilities.
Group leader in CSIRO’s Data61, the agency’s data and digital arm, Dr Navinda Kottege welcomed the opening of the new facility.
“This new testing centre and partnership will help facilitate new capabilities and products that will advance local industry and strengthen Australia’s international standing in this domain,” Dr Kottege said.
CSIRO’s Pullenvale site is also home to the Robotics Innovation Centre (RIC) and CSIRO’s robotics and autonomous expertise at the Queensland Centre for Advanced Technologies (QCAT).
The robotic technologies being developed onsite could assist CSIRO in designing and creating technologies for CSIRO’s Labs of the Future initiative to establish digitised laboratories, flexible workspaces, a smaller more sustainable footprint, cutting‑edge smart infrastructure shared with partners, and an efficient carbon footprint.
Australian companies Minelab and EPE announce an Exclusive Teaming Agreement in support of specific Defence Land Projects.
Minelab, a member of the Codan group of companies based in Adelaide’s high-tech precinct known as Technology Park, is a world leader in metal detection technologies and supplies countermine detectors to humanitarian demining NGOs, commercial demining companies and militaries throughout the world. Through innovation and continuous improvement, Minelab is developing the next generation of hand-held metal detection technologies and products.
The clear synergies between Minelab and EPE are evident. EPE is an Australian veteran owned company, unrivalled in delivering Counter-IED and Counter Explosive Hazards (CEH) capabilities to the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF). EPE was awarded the 2019 New Zealand Minister of Defence Awards for Excellence to Industry for delivery of the Counter Explosive Hazards (CEH) Project.
CEH capabilities delivered by EPE to search for, detect and neutralise explosive hazards are fully supported by specialist training and through life support, delivering 100% Sovereign Industry Capability and specialist Australian Defence jobs.
In 2016 the Australian Department of Defence awarded Minelab a $6.7 million contract to develop a dual sensor detector with enhanced capabilities to aid in the detection of metal and non-metal explosive devices. As a result, the MDS-10 dual sensor detector was designed combining unique Metal Detection and Ground Penetrating Radar technologies. Minelab was awarded the World Electronics Forum (WEF) “New Product Design” Award for the MDS-10 Dual Sensor.
International evaluations of the MDS-10 highlight its enhanced detection capabilities; ergonomic, compact and lightweight mechanical platform and ease of use.
The aim of the grant is to assist Defence industry to enhance Defence capability within Australia.
The EPE project is the development of a world leading specialised unmanned systems proving ground, training area, and supporting CBRNe Sensor Test and Assurance Laboratory designed specifically for Australian requirements. The SICP funding will assist EPE to design and implement a specialised Military Test, Evaluation, Certification, and Systems Assurance (MILTECS) facility across two sites in Brisbane and a third site near Toowoomba. The facilities will include building three large-scale Proving Centres (PC’s) and three supporting Test Laboratories (Test Labs). The new capabilities will allow EPE and Industry partners to deliver substantially enhanced Defence capability outcomes.
EPE Managing Director, Warwick Penrose said ‘This Project provides an example of how an investment by Government to augment private sector investment jointly delivers critical Defence capability outcomes as well as highly skilled Australian Defence jobs.’
The project outcome will be the provision of the sovereign MILTECS facility that is designed and developed for Australian requirements, and will incorporate the design, construction and management of:
Penrose added ‘What Defence needs from its Defence Industry Partners is changing. We need to be more adaptive, innovative and self-reliant. We need to generate tangible capabilities more quickly to ensure Defence maintains its competitive advantages in a rapidly changing Indo-Pacific security environment. EPE’s clear eyed approach to meeting these needs, is to invest in our MILTECs Proving Centres and Test Labs on green field sites to expand Australia’s overall capacity to innovate, test, prove and validate response robotics, Counter-IED and CBRN capabilities. Our Response Robotics NIST Test Apparatus within the Unmanned Systems Proving Centre and the EOD Tools Weapon’s Proving Centre are some of the first in Australia.’
‘Our investment in MILTECs is mirrored by our growing relationships with our Research partners such as QUT and DSTG. Our future focus is to ensure the capabilities we provide today are future proofed to emerging threats. Our plans have been years in their development, and we’re very thankful for the support of the Australian Defence Force to enable EPE to develop this type of capacity in a measured and assured way.’
For more information
Contact Narelle Hoffman, Marketing and Communications Manager +61 (07) 3308 9300 or email:
Originally published on the Australian Government Department of Defence Media Release Site.
Australian companies are continuing to strengthen their defence manufacturing capability with support and financial assistance from the Morrison Government.
Minister for Defence Industry Melissa Price today announced more than $8 million in support to 11 Australian businesses through the latest round of Sovereign Industrial Capability Priority (SICP) grants.
“These grant recipients are making crucial investments to improve their manufacturing capabilities, which is supporting Australia’s sovereign industrial base,” Minister Price said.
“Their dedication and foresight is enabling the Australian Defence Force (ADF) to maintain its leading edge.
“We’re helping local businesses to build resilient critical supply chains in an increasingly uncertain strategic environment.”
The grants are expected to improve domestic manufacturing capabilities, which helps build Australia’s sovereign industrial capacity to support the ADF.
Minister Price said she wanted to see more Australian small businesses thrive.
“The SICP grants not only enable businesses to improve their competitiveness, but develop new and valuable capabilities,” Minister Price said.
“This opens up new opportunities for local businesses to become involved in our commitment to develop a strong, sustainable and secure defence industry.
Since the grants program’s inception in November 2018, 99 grants have been awarded to Australian small and medium businesses, with a combined value of $55.6 million.
The Sovereign Industrial Capability Priority Grants announced today:
| Company | Grant Amount | Grant Funding Purpose | State |
| EPE | $1,400,000 | Development of a world leading specialised unmanned systems proving ground, training area, and supporting Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and high yield explosives (CBRNe) Sensor Test and Assurance Laboratory specifically for Australian requirements. | QLD |
| Diamond Defence Pty Ltd | $290,990 | Expansion of fibre-optic manufacturing capability at its Melbourne facility. Will enable locally manufactured, high performance military-spec fibre optic assemblies and harnesses which are not currently available in Australia. | VIC |
| Moog Australia | $209,772 | Support to acquire and install new specialist equipment. | VIC |
| Novafast International Pty Ltd | $1,366,962 | Support the acquisition and installation of new robotics equipment for new manufacturing technologies in composite products. | SA |
| Varley Rafael Australia | $183,022 | Expansion of current Guided Weapons capabilities by setting up and commissioning a SPIKE Launcher assembly line, by upgrading facilities and associated security measures. | VIC |
| HTA Group Pty Ltd | $1,069,479 | Support the acquisition and installation of specialist equipment for defence and aerospace compliant vacuum hardening processes in Victoria and New South Wales. | VIC/NSW |
| Australian Precision Technologies Pty Ltd | $1,054,137 | Expansion and update of specialist equipment and current facilities for precision machining and milling. | VIC |
| Able Industries Engineering Pty Ltd | $1,395,344 | Purchase, construct, install and commission new capital equipment, implement workforce training, skills development and quality accreditation. | VIC |
| Able Industries Engineering Pty Ltd | $331,450 | Completed required building modifications to enhance the company’s ability to manufacture key components. | VIC |
| Abstec Calibrations Australia Pty Ltd | $185,117 | Extension of existing laboratory area to meet increased demand from defence industry and to improve their National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA) scope of accreditation | SA |
| GW Kewder Engineering Pty Ltd | $294,000 | Investment in specialist machining tools to continue to support the manufacture of precision components. | VIC |
| Campagno Engineering Pty Ltd | $609,266 | Acquire and install specialist equipment. | VIC |
EPE was truly honoured to meet with Graham Ellis, the Queensland Representative for the SOER Association to give a donation to the not for profit organisation. The SOER Association is a Veterans Support Organisation that aims to promote the general welfare and prosperity of Special Operations Engineer Regiment veterans and their families and to assist in increasing quality of life through providing advocacy, well-being initiatives and welfare support services. The Association assists families of the Regiment’s soldiers who have given their lives or returned with injuries. Building awareness of Veteran suicide and homelessness is also a priority for the Association.
EPE was pleased to make a donation of $14 000 to the SOER Association from the EPE Annual Fundraising Event which was held in Brisbane during the week of Land Forces 2021. We thank and acknowledge our donors from the evening who donated cash and auction items: Adagold Aviation Pty Ltd, Andrew & Skye McKay, Craig & Kara Chudleigh, The Penrose Family, PWR Advanced Cooling Technology, Brisbane Broncos, University of Southern Queensland, Norwell Motorplex and Rheinmetall.
