Page 8 - Australian Defence Magazine February 2022

8 NEWS REVIEW INDUSTRY UPDATE
FEBRUARY 2022 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
WORLD-FIRST OBSERVATORY OPENED IN REMOTE SA
LEFT: ‘Oculus’ is located on the fringe of South Australia’s dark sky reserve.
space,” Dr James Palmer, CEO Silentium Defence said. “Unlike traditional space surveillance technologies that provide a narrow view of debris and objects in orbit, the sensors at our observatory provide cov- erage of an area the size of South Australia.
“For customers, this means we will de- tect and track objects they expect to see, like satellites and catalogued debris, as well as new and unknown objects that may pose a threat to critical services or assets in space.
“Oculus is set to be the workhorse of space surveillance, supporting both com- mercial and government applications.”
The Silentium Defence Oculus Obser- vatory is the first of a planned network of wide-field-of-view observatories to be deployed across the globe. Based on the company’s unique radar technology, its sensors exploit megawatts of transmitted power from pre-existing transmitters. This means space surveillance radars can be built and commissioned rapidly without spectrum license approvals.
A brand-new observatory designed, built, and managed by Silentium Defence has been opened in South Australia.
According to Silentium Defence, the ‘Oculus Observatory’ is a “new kind of space observatory” which delivers the widest field of view, and the most cost- effective monitoring of objects in orbit, anywhere in the world.
Opened in December by Head of the Australian Space Agency Enrico Palermo, ‘Oculus’ is located on the fringe of South Australia’s dark sky reserve in the Mid- Murray region.
“This new generation space observatory will provide high quality and timely data for more informed decision making, traf- fic management and collision avoidance in
AUSTRALIA AND JAPAN SIGN RECIPROCAL ACCESS AGREEMENT
NIGEL PITTAWAY | MELBOURNE
IN a virtual meeting on 6 January, Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida signed a Recipro- cal Access Agreement (Australia-Japan RAA) between the two countries to enable the ADF and the Japan Self-Defense Force to undertake co-operative activities.
The agreement will establish standing arrangements between the ADF and JSDF and further facilitate activities such as mil- itary exercises and humanitarian aid and disaster relief (HADR) operations in the re- gion. Morrison and Kishida also confirmed the importance of promoting co-operation between the Japan Coast Guard (JCG) and the Department of Home Affairs concern- ing maritime domain awareness.
Australia and Japan will also develop a new Joint Declaration on Security Co-op-
eration, replacing the existing agreement signed in 2007.
“The two leaders signed the landmark Australia-Japan RAA, underscoring their commitment to further elevating bilat- eral security and defence co-operation in the interests of peace and stability intheIndo-Pacificregion,”astatement
issued by PM Morrison’s office said. “The agreement will establish standing arrangements for the ADF and JSDF to fa- cilitate co-operative activities such as joint exercises and disaster relief operations, in- cluding those of greater scale and complex- ity, while improving the interoperability andcapabilityofthetwocountries’forces.”
LEFT: Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Ship JS Inazuma and HMAS Warramunga navigate in-company during Exercise Nichi Gou Trident 2021.
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