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
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
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.
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
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.
Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, will accelerate the development of ground-breaking protection for our defence force from chemical, biological and radiological agents, with an $8.6 million Defence Innovation Hub contract to further develop and commercialise its world-leading respirator technology.
This is the largest contract signed by the Hub to date and will help bring the technology a step closer to being realised.
The single canister device is a step change from existing technology, providing both protection for longer periods, and against more potential threats. As well as providing protection from biological and radiological agents, it will significantly reduce exposure to a broad spectrum of toxic industrial chemicals, also critical to the nation’s first responders.
CSIRO will be working with Melbourne-based chemical manufacturing business and porous material’s producer, Boron Molecular, and Brisbane-based, Veteran Owned EPE Trusted to Protect, to develop the respirator, as well as Monash University.
CSIRO Chief Executive Dr Larry Marshall, said Australian innovations that protect our Defence Force personnel are a critical part of maintaining a secure Australia and region.
“We are using science to create real-world solutions, working with Australian industry to build sovereign capability and turn brilliant ideas into something ground-breaking to protect our troops.
“We are aiming to develop a respirator that will be the most capable in the world.”
CSIRO researcher, Professor Matthew Hill, said CSIRO has been studying porous solids for around 10 years and has developed an efficient and cost-effective manufacturing process.
“By combining our expertise in nanofibers and porous solids, we’re developing a technology that will protect our military personnel from weaponised toxic chemical gases and vapours and give them a greater chance to safely complete their mission.”
Nanofibres are super-light filters that can stop particles from getting through, and combine nanofibers with some of the world’s most porous materials to soak up hazardous gases like a sponge. By incorporating porous materials into respirators, toxic industrial chemicals can be adsorbed before they affect the wearer.
Dr Oliver Hutt, CEO of Melbourne-based chemical manufacturing business and porous materials’ producer, Boron Molecular, said his company was excited to be involved in the development of the leading-edge sovereign Defence capability.
“We’ve worked with CSIRO for many years on various projects, but it’s particularly rewarding to be involved in the development of a technology that will help keep our military safe,” Dr Hutt said.
Brisbane-based and Australian Veteran Owned business, EPE Trusted To Protect, is the lead commercial partner on the project and is manufacturing the canisters.
EPE specialises in using advanced technologies to protect service personnel. From Bomb Response robots to Counter Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear capabilities, EPE bring unique skills and experience.
EPE’s Managing Director, Mr Warwick Penrose, said the team was looking forward to delivering the canisters to defence personnel and first responders.
“We are excited to work with CSIRO and Defence Science and Technology Group to ensure that the product produced is not just the best technologically but also operationally meets the needs of service personnel,” Mr Penrose said.
“Ultimately, we are excited by the prospect of getting this product protecting the service men and woman of Australia, our allies, as well as the first responder community.”
Monash University, a research partner on the project, will provide critical engineering expertise on the internal canister components.
Professor Mark Banaszak Holl, Head of Monash University’s Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering, said his team was proud of the unique partnership with CSIRO to deliver practical solutions for Australia’s first responders.
The respirator technology featured at the ‘Academy Awards’ of Australian science in 2019, as a finalist in the Defence, Science and Technology Eureka Prize for Outstanding Science in Safeguarding Australia.
Acknowledgement CSIRO media announcement: https://www.csiro.au/en/news/News-releases/2022/Worlds-best-respirator
The Defence Innovation Hub has awarded its largest contract to date to Australia’s national science agency, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) to develop advanced respiratory protective equipment for the Australian Defence Force (ADF).
Deputy Prime Minister, Richard Marles, welcomed the $8.65 million investment with CSIRO, which is partnering with Brisbane-based small business EPE Trusted to Protect to deliver this cutting-edge innovation.
“This investment demonstrates the incredible ingenuity and impact of Australia’s innovation sector to create leading solutions for Defence, contributing to a strong, sovereign defence industry,” Deputy Prime Minister Marles said.
The technology uses metal organic material rather than carbon based absorbent material to provide more effective protection against a broader range of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) contaminants through the use of a single respiratory unit.
CSIRO will be working with Melbourne-based chemical manufacturing business and porous material’s producer, Boron Molecular, and Brisbane-based, Veteran Owned EPE Trusted to Protect, to develop the respirator, as well as Monash University.
Minister for Industry and Science, Ed Husic said Australian innovations that protect our Defence Force personnel are a critical part of maintaining a secure Australia and region.
“We are using science to create real-world solutions, working with Australian industry to build sovereign capability and turn brilliant ideas into something ground-breaking to protect ADF personnel,” Minister Husic said.
CSIRO’s unique, broad-spectrum respirator canister will aim to enhance defence capability by protecting military personnel for longer periods during missions involving chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear contamination on the battlefield.
Acknowledgement Department of Defence media announcement: https://www.minister.defence.gov.au/minister/rmarles/media-releases/865-million-investment-develop-innovative-adf-protective-equipment
James Gatley joins EPE following a successful ADF career and recent Defence Industry experience.
James started his ADF career as a communicator, this experience included managing deployable networks and supporting tactical elements. During this time he deployed to Iraq with the Australian Army Training Team in 2004. He commenced service with SOCOMD in 2005 supporting the organisations communications requirements before becoming a qualified member of the unit and changing roles in 2007. Between 2006 and 2017 he completed 10 operational deployments with the Special Operations Task Group and other specialist tasks. This diverse experience allowed him to contribute to capability development as an end user across multiple functions and still provides the foundation to his approach, putting the user’s needs first.
As a consultant post his ADF career he delivered specialist training to diverse user groups, this included Hostile Awareness and Environment Training (HEAT) to Government clients and niche capabilities to the Aviation Industry.
More recently James was the Chief Operating Officer to a tech start-up developing capabilities for the Security and Defence Industries. He supported this organisation establish itself as a legitimate SME and global leader in the counter-drone space. This role allowed James to influence end to end product design based on his domain experience and also provided a firm commercial grounding. The experience ultimately enabling him to better support EPE’s clients within his role as a Capability Manager.
James is passionate about growing his knowledge to ensure EPE continues to provide the best possible solutions and outcomes for our clients.
EPE is very proud of our Partnerships with US companies who are investing in research and development to continuously improve the equipment and technologies available to protect those men and women who work in volatile environments while performing their duties in Law Enforcement, Peace Keeping, War Zones and Emergency Response.
EPE Director, Warwick Penrose and CBRN/EOD Specialist, Chris Panteli travelled today to the US to attend the IABTI (International Association of Bomb Technicians and Investigators) International Training Conference in Texas. While in the US they will also meet with a number of our US based Equipment Manufacturers for updates on new equipment developments and new technologies in countering IED and CBRN threats.
The IABTI Conference briefings are from International Experts and will focus on a number of case studies, including the Anders Breivik bombing and shooting in Oslo, Norway, and the Woodburn, Oregon bombing. Seminars will cover the range of specialist disciplines covered by Bomb Technicians and Investigators including: Explosive Charges for IEDD, X-Ray, Tactical Explosive Breaching, Person Borne Blast Measurements in Explosive Breaching and much more.
Name change is a reflection of the expansion of the solutions we offer.
Explosive Protective Equipment announces that we are refining our name to EPE to more accurately reflect our business strategy and diversification in the marketplace. It’s also the name we are commonly referred to by many of our existing customers and partners. We are excited to announce our new name to our customers and our global industry partners. The name change reflects our expansion beyond ‘explosive’ and ‘equipment’, while maintaining ‘EPE’ reinforces our commitment to build on 25 years of trusted supply to Australian Defence, Law Enforcement Agencies and other government organisations.
Over the last 3 years EPE has developed a strong reputation for providing ‘more than equipment’, delivering training, specialist staff support and equipment maintenance. An insight is articulated in a formal letter from the Australian Army following the completion of a 12 month training contract in 2012 ‘…I am writing to highlight the excellent performance and support that EPE has provided to The Australian Defence Force since June 2011. The operational requirements for Counter Improvised Explosive Device (IED) operators in Afghanistan were both technically challenging and required EPE to deliver under the most demanding timelines. Their support to ADF operations was first rate and has undoubtedly saved lives. The project was completed in time, to budget and, in terms of deliverables, exceeded expectations.’
During this same period EPE has expanded beyond ‘Explosive’. We have developed from our core focus on Counter IED, EOD and Personal Protective Equipment, to establish strong momentum supporting broader Force Protection, ECM, CBRN Response, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance, Blue Force Tracking and Rapidly Deployable Shelter Systems capabilities.
We wish to advise that our name refinement is for branding purposes only. Our registered company name remains Zangold Pty Ltd trading as Explosive Protective Equipment. There will be no effect on Standing Offers with the Australian Government, contractual arrangements, import regulations etc. EPE’s company ownership, products, and services remain the same. All of your internal contacts within EPE also remain the same. The only change is to the branding of materials, which our customers see.
Last week the EPE product, Scimitar was launched in the UK by our Distribution Partner, Providence CTS at the Counter Terror Expo in London.
Born from an urgent operational requirement expressed by the Australian Defence Force in 2011 to improve bomb disposal operations in Afghanistan, EPE’s Scimitar is an information collection and fusion tool, which enhances tactical level situational awareness, mission and training analysis, and intelligence gathering.
EPE has partnered with Providence Counter Threat Solutions to represent Scimitar in the UK and European markets. While Scimitar started with military bomb disposal operations, its utility extends into law enforcement, emergency services, mining and many corporate applications where information is gathered from different sensors and sources. Until the arrival of Scimitar, tactical-level operators had to rely on several different means to manage task information. Scimitar exploits advances in technology to better capture, store, manipulate, fuse and disseminate multi-source information, including the live-streaming of data. It allows you to create an electronic record of a particular operational mission or event, or training scenario by overlaying sensor data streams inputted into the system. Data including geospatial, video or still imagery, audio, biometrics, dosimetry or any other data can be streamed onto an operational timeline for ease of current and future reference.
The Expo in London was visited by over 10,000 people and Scimitar received interest from UK MoD, UK Police, and first responder groups from Turkey, Netherlands, Bahrain, Slovakia, Hungary and Pakistan. Providence CTS were awarded a certificate as a finalist for CT Expo Excellence Awards for C-IED innovation at the Expo.
Please visit the Remnants of War website.
EPE is honoured to have been able to help this cause by partnering with Allen Vanguard in the donation of demining ensembles and equipment to improve protection for those performing this important and dangerous work.
Landmines and Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) are a major problem in South East Asia, posing threat to human life and hindering development in affected areas. This documentary looks at how Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) are affecting Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos, and highlights the efforts being made by local and international Non-Government Organisations (NGO’s) operating in this region, to assist dealing with the problem. Officially uploaded on April 4 – ‘International Day of Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action’. Stay tuned for the full length documentary to follow.
For more information see the Remnants of War website.
EPE staff last week attended Global Security Asia (GSA) 2013 in Singapore. GSA is the premier event focused on Counter Terrorism, Internal State Security, Civil Defence and Law Enforcement in the Asia Pacific region. The focus for EPEs attendance at GSA was to meet with Overseas Equipment Manufacturers who we have had very close partnerships with over the last fifteen years. It was a great opportunity to meet with our partners for updates on new technologies and product advancements.
The Australian Army’s Explosive Detection Dog capability received a big boost in 2012, courtesy of a successful 12-month K9 training contract delivered by EPE at the School of Military Engineering. Army now has 17 new Explosive Detection Dogs and two new Explosive Detection Dog Trainers.
The EPE team comprised six staff with over 100 years of K9 training and operational experience between them. Four of the staff were highly experienced, former Australian Army Explosive Detection Dog trainers. The other two team members joined us from the UK – one member was a former lead K9 trainer from Surrey Police in the UK, and the other member was a former British Forces’ lead K9 capability manager.
The first six months focused on the training of 20 dogs in accordance with the Australian Army’s off-lead Explosive Detection Dog competency requirements. The breadth of training included building search, area search, route search, and vehicle search. 11 of the 20 dogs were successfully certified. Most of the unsuccessful dogs were removed during the early stages of training.
The second six months required the EPE team to re-team the 11 certified dogs with their new Army handlers, as well as leading the delivery of the annual Explosive Detection Dog Supervisor’s Course. This course produced another six Explosive Detection Dogs, bringing the overall total to 17 new dogs. Many of these Explosive Detection Dogs will serve in Afghanistan.
In addition to training, EPE also provided the Australian Army with new portable K9 kennels and specifically designed K9 handler kits.
EPE is proud to have been an integral part of the Australian Army’s effort to reinforce its Explosive Detection Dog capability – a capability which continues to prove its effectiveness and importance, detecting lethal Improvised Explosive Devices in Afghanistan.
2 Cameras / 1 Unit / Dual Views. Deploy the UDC Pro under a door or around a corner to see obstacles before entry. The 2-camera system provides forward and upward camera views, allowing operators to covertly inspect both the interior of a room and the interior side of the door. Switch between views on the wireless PRO Monitors.
PRO Monitors: wirelessly toggle camera views. Designed exclusively for dual view cameras, the PRO Monitors allow wireless toggling between the forward and upward camera angles of the UDC Pro.
Telescoping Deployment Pole. Quickly deploy the telescoping pole with the UDC Pro to gain reach and remain behind a position of cover. The telescoping pole can also be retrofitted for the earlier Under Door Camera UDC4 version.
EPE has once again been named in the Top 20 Australia/NZ owned SME Defence Suppliers List published by Australian Defence Magazine (ADM). EPE is proud to support the Australian and New Zealand Defence Forces through the provision of leading edge equipment, maintenance and training. For the last ten years EPE has been at the forefront of providing EOD, CIED and Force Protection ECM capability to the Australian Defence Force. We have a long track record of successfully supporting battle-proven technologies that deliver comprehensive and sustainable capability against evolving threats, as well as delivering Rapid Acquisition projects to Defence.
EPE Maintenance Manager Dean Dickson, and Maintenance Engineer, Dayne Hawkes, have successfully completed advanced training in the field of Radiation Safety. The training was provided by the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation(ANSTO), the premier training provider of radiation training in the Oceania region.
The training was conducted at ANSTO’s Open Pool Australian Lightwater Reactor Facility (OPAL) in Lucas Heights, Sydney. This is home to the only active nuclear reactor in in the Oceania region. Here they compounded their skill sets in numerous disciplines, including: Radiation Safety Theory, Radiation Working Practices and Methods to deal with Radiation Emergencies. These skills will add to the extensive knowledge our maintenance team already have in Non Destructive Testing and Industrial Radiography, in order to provide a world class maintenance service to our customers.
HAL Tactical: What is it?
The HAL Tactical Kit is a lightweight man-portable Hook and Line kit that is based on Modular Equipment Packs (MEPs) to support operations where a full sized Hook and Line kit is not an option. The HAL Tactical is designed for during Tactical, SWAT, Route Clearance, IEDD and other missions involving explosive threats.
The Core System is based on a Leg Pouch mounted to the thigh and contains 3 Modular Equipment Packs: Line; Basic Clamps & Manipulators; and, an Anchor. Users can then enhance this with up to 8 Specialty MEPs: Advanced Clamp; Visibility; Basic Reach; Guidance; Multi-tool; Demining; Grappling Hook; and Bi-pod & Extended Reach. This allows users to customize their Kit at time of order and then select the exact Modular Equipment Packs that are most relevant to their operational needs for a given mission. All of the components have been designed to minimize size and weight but still provide excellent functional capabilities.
EPE currently has the first Demo Kit in Australia to demonstrate to end users in January and February of 2013.
We are very excited by the positive comments from end users from the US, Canada and Australia who have seen prototypes of the Kits. The quality and capabilities of the HAL Tactical make it very competitive.
Today the Theme at the EPE Booth covers Training; Threat Analysis/ Portal; K9 Training and Equipment; and ECM. Our team will be demonstrating the NEW Scimitar Tactical Mission and Training Analysis Tool.
Also on display:
The Summer Ball will be a very special event with many troops arriving home from deployment. EPE has worked closely with 2CER over the past 18 months with OHR, BiP and EDD Training, and is happy to support the Regiment through sponsorship of the Summer Ball. We wish you all a great night.
Day 1 at Australian Bomb Data Centre Conference. Today the EPE Exhibit is themed Lightweight Operator System.
Featuring NEW Technology:
Monday 5th November 2012
Explosive Protective Equipment (EPE) announces that Counter Terrorism Solutions (CTS) has been merged into Explosive Protective Equipment. Both companies are owned by Warwick Penrose, and all business previously conducted by CTS will now be conducted by EPE. The same team will continue to provide the same high level of service and expert product knowledge on the CTS products – the RAZOR III, RAZOR EX, Film Array and RSDL. The CBRN Product Line Manager is Chris Panteli, who can be contacted on 0411 598 338.
Further, we take this opportunity to advise you that Idaho Technology has changed it’s name to BioFire Diagnostics Inc. BioFire develops innovative solutions for BioSurveillance and molecular diagnostics. EPE remains the Australian distributor for BioFire delivering the leading edge technologies including RAZOR EX and Film Array into the Australian first responder community.
Dr Aris Makris joins EPE at LWC this week. Aris is Vice President of Research and Development from Allen-Vanguard. Aris specialises in explosions and protection against blast effects. He has led numerous programs geared towards design and development of advanced personal protective systems to protect against IEDs, including the EOD 7B, 8 & 9 generation bomb suits, as well as, blast mitigation seats for mitigating injuries to military vehicle occupants subjected to IEDs. Aris and his team at Allen Vanguard have developed a number of person borne blast sensors to assist in quantifying individual blast exposure under diverse operational circumstances and guide improvements in design, medical understanding and optimization of SOPs . Dr. Makris has been an active member of several equipment performance standards, including the NIJ Bomb Suit standard, NATO and UN working groups.
Aris is presenting a paper at LWC on Person Borne Blast Dosimeters.
Visit us at LWC in Melbourne 30 October to 2 November. All the EPE team will be there and we look forward to catching up. EPE is at Area 27. This year we’ll have a range of new capabilities on display. Areas of focus include:
Lightweight EOD Solutions – including the new Med-Eng TAC6, HAL Tactical, Lightweight Disruptors, latest in UGVs
Tactical and ISR – featuring the latest technologies from Tactical Electronics including UAV, tactical camers. Plus new technology in Situational Command and Control.
CBRN and Deployable Shelter Systems – Biodetection, Decon Shelter Systems.
Canine – our complete canine offering for Law Enforcement and Military Working Dogs
Tectonica is running a mobile app competition with $5k in cash up for grabs. Tectonica also intends to develop the winning idea into a live app so you get both cash and kudos!
Have you ever thought there should be an App for that? Questioned whether using your smartphone would be faster? Easier? Simpler? Well here’s your chance to do something about it.
Tectonica is searching for a great Defence App idea.
So, if you’ve been planning the perfect App to help you fulfil your role, submit your idea on Facebook. The Tectonica panel of judges will decide the best idea, and award the winner $5000.
The Tectonica team of experienced Defence software developers will turn your idea into reality.
The bragging rights and $5000 could be yours – good luck!
Complete details at Tectonica facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tectonica-Australia/405287039526947. Terms and conditions http://www.tectonica.net/terms-and-conditions
