Page 4 - Australian Defence Magazine July-August 2021

4 EDITORIAL
JULY-AUGUST 2021 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
MOVING FORWARD
EWEN LEVICK | MELBOURNE
With Managing Editor Katherine Ziesing taking a well-earned break this issue, I’d like to welcome you to the July/August 2021 edition of Australian Defence Magazine: STEM and Infrastructure.
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IN THIS EDITION, our STEM focus is on the growing role of drones as a technological bridge between Defence and various in- dustry sectors. We speak to UAVAIR, who have rolled out drone training across Army as well as to high schools across NSW and Queensland, and to veteran-owned Mir- ragin, a drone consultancy taking lessons learned in the ADF out into industry.
One of the main takeaways from this conversation was how many opportunities there are for drone operators to learn from each other. And as the technology evolves
face-to-face and seeing first-hand the ca- pabilities of Australian defence industry. The return of major trade shows is cer- tainly welcome.
These pages also contain in-depth anal- ysis of this year's federal budget, which was released in May. Defence spending now sits at 2.1 per cent of GDP, reflecting the government's view of the ADF as a pri- mary tool in Australia's deteriorating stra- tegic outlook. Overseas operations have taken a funding hit as Australian forces follow the US out of Afghanistan and the government renews its focus on growing challenges in the Indo-Pacific.
We also peek over the Pacific at the US Future Vertical Lift program, which aims to significantly improve the combat range and speed of vertical lift capabilities. That program could see the US Army fly- ing new and impressive machines before 2030, raising the question of whether the ADF's new Apache fleet and the eventual winner of Land 2097 will only be truly modern for a few years before falling be- hind the next generation of battlefield helicopters.
Finally, ADM is proud to announce the finalists for the 2021 Women in Defence Awards. This year we're introducing a new category – R&D/Academia – to reflect the contributions women make to keeping De- fence at the cutting edge. We're looking forward to announcing winners on Friday July 30 at a gala dinner at the National Ar- boretum in Canberra.
As ever, the purpose of this magazine and the wider ADM Group is to give you the information you need for the busi- ness of defence. You can also tune in through our website, podcasts, Defence Industry Guide, videos and more. And if you have something newsworthy to share with us, feel free to get in touch using the details on the right. We look forward to hearing from you. ■
“THE RETURN OF MAJOR TRADE SHOWS IS CERTAINLY WELCOME”
quickly, the next gen- eration of STEM students is quickly becoming ‘drone liter- ate’.
On infrastructure, Deputy Editor Nigel Pittaway looks at the $6.56 billion that the enterprise estate and infrastructure pro- gram will spend over the next financial year – a $1.28 bil- lion increase over FY
2020-2021. The money will fund projects on military bases all around Australia, in- cluding major works to support RAAF's incoming fleets of MC-55A Peregrines and MQ-4C Tritons, Army's new heavy vehicle fleets under Land 121, and Navy's forth- coming Arafura class offshore patrol ves- sels and Hunter class frigates.
You'll also find coverage of the first major defence industry tradeshow held since the pandemic began well over a year ago: Land Forces 2021. Over 700 companies attended an exhibition that, according to the organisers, was 30 per cent larger than the 2018 iteration. The ADM team was there as well (minus a few staff caught in the Melbourne lockdown) and had a great time meeting many of you