Page 51 - Australian Defence Magazine April 2023

APRIL 2023 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
NEWS REVIEW INDIGENOUS UPDATE 51
JACOBS PARTNERS WITH IDIC
enous businesses and people being able to meaningfully participate in the defence industry,” iDiC CEO and Director Adam Goodes added.
“iDiC has been on a journey with Jacobs for three years and, in that time, we have grown our capability and capacity and have been engaged in many projects with a direct supply chain spend by Jacobs of more than US$7.4 million (AU$10.5m). We have also engaged more than 40 con- sultants in above-the-line services for the Australian Government,” he said. IDiC is an Indigenous-owned and Indigenous-controlled business support- ing around 120 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses through the delivery of long-term defence and infra- structure projects.
“Working alongside the Bluebottle un- crewed surveillance vessels, as well as ABF Dash 8 aircraft, the information our con- tingent gathered will enable potential re- sponses from other government agencies.”
“There is a very close relationship be- tween the ADF and ABF, facilitated through MBC, which enables shared ef- fort and the sharing of information to achieve better operational outcomes and security for Australia,” MAJ Brent added.
“At the local level, the Regional Force Surveillance Units have an intimate rela- tionship with Indigenous communities and leaders in their respective areas of opera- tion, which is vital to the enhanced under- standing of country, patterns of life and ac- cess across northern Australia, all of which directly contributes to land component out- comes for Operation Resolute.” ■
JACOBS and the Indigenous Defence and Infrastructure Consortium (iDiC) have signed an updated Memorandum of Un- derstanding (MoU) to continue to provide opportunities for Indigenous-owned busi- nesses to participate in the Australian de- fence and infrastructure industries.
According to Jacobs, this partnership has contributed the equivalent of AU$44 million towards economic and social value in Indigenous communities since 2019.
“Our partnership with iDiC is provid- ing tangible benefits to Indigenous busi- nesses and communities in Australia,” Jacobs Critical Mission Solutions Asia- Pacific Vice President Mike Walkington
said. “Via our strategic relationship with iDiC, we have assisted Indigenous- owned businesses to participate in the defence industry and have welcomed three First Nations personnel into our business as part of an Indigenous devel- opment and employment program that develops professional skills, experience and business acumen.”
Jacobs and iDiC say they have a shared ambition to support a new generation of Indigenous businesses and people by ac- tively developing capability and capacity of First Nations people.
“Our relationship with Jacobs in Aus- tralia has resulted in iDiC and our Indig-
NEW SURVEILLANCE WEAPON LAUNCHED
CAPTAIN LILY CHARLES | DEFENCE
A new type of unmanned surveillance technology was used on Operation Reso- lute for the first time in October last year.
The seventh rotation of Army’s Regional Force Surveillance Group (RFSG) used Bluebottles, developed by Ocius Technolo- gies, which can provide a 24/7 on-water sur- veillance capability, with the flexibility to respond to emerging surveillance require- ments or tasks.
During the two-week deployment the contingent conducted surveillance and reconnaissance around remote islands off northern WA.
The contingent was drawn primar- ily from Northwest Mobile Force (NOR- FORCE) and 10th Force Support Battal- ion, with attachments from 3 RAR and 1st Combat Signal Regiment.
MajorAlexanderBrent,MaritimeBorder Command (MBC) Liaison Officer to Rota- tion 7, said the use of the Bluebottles add- ed significant capability to the operation. “In addition to persistent surveillance, we were able to use the Bluebottles to con- duct more specific reconnaissance tasks, such as beach landing site reconnais- sance and avenues of approach to specific
islands in advance of the ground force,” MAJ Brent said.
“By controlling the Bluebottles remotely, the ground force was free to move indepen- dently of the USVs and focus on other tasks, such as onshore reconnaissance and patrol- ling, while still benefiting from what they col- lected.”
The trial will likely inform future team- ing with unmanned maritime assets to support amphibious and littoral combat manoeuvres.
As one of three Regional Force Surveil- lance Units which form the 2nd Division’s RFSG, NORFORCE provides a persistent screen in northern Australia, liv-
ing by the motto ‘Ever Vigilant’. Several times a year the RFSG screen is supported by enabling assets, including medical teams, remote C2 nodes and Australian Border Force
assets as part of Operation Resolute NORFORCE Patrol Master, Cap- tain Stephen Sewell, said the efforts increased situational awareness of
illegal activities in the region. “They conducted surveillance from observation posts, dismount- ed patrols across the islands and patrols in the littoral environment
by watercraft,” he said.
ABOVE: Soldiers from Regional Force Surveillance Unit deploy from a LCM-8 landing craft on Zodiac boats alongside the Bluebottle maritime surveillance vessel deployed on Operation Resolute 2022
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