Taxpayers helped develop sovereign drones, but the highest value components still come from overseas
Without consistent support, drone manufacturers warn the Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator falls short of creating a genuine industrial capability.
The Albanese government’s defence industry accelerator helped develop Australia’s first local surveillance drone manufacturing capability, but industry is warning the flow on benefits for the supply chain are largely going offshore.
In a letter sent to Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy, the winners of the Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator’s (ASCA) sovereign drone program argue it “has fallen short of creating a genuine industrial capability”.
Australian manufacturing businesses AMSL Aero, Boresight and Grabba Technologies, who sent the letter, speak highly of ASCA and the Defence personnel they continue to work with. The program enabled the companies to develop competitive surveillance drone technologies in a matter of weeks, recently propelling Boresight to an oversubscribed $8 million ASX float.
But while the winners of ASCA’s sovereign uncrewed aerial system (UAS) challenge acknowledge the program “met the objective of demonstrating technology and driving innovation”, they told Conroy that the volume of subsequent procurement contracts is not enough to give local component manufacturers the confidence they need to develop new products for the drone supply chain.
