Page 94 - Australian Defence Magazine Nov 2020

94 FROM THE SOURCE AMANDA HOLT
NOVEMBER 2020 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 98
You need to really focus on what’s going to add value. We look at where we have a capability advantage within the Australian workforce; where we can create something unique to satisfy a current or an emerging need, predomi- nantly with our defence customers.
We also work in and around the emergency services and the broader aerial surveillance market, but Defence is more than 85 per cent of what we do there. We don’t take on any projects locally unless we’re going to be able to develop some unique IP. We don’t want to be a cost leader, we want to be a genuine innovator. The export potential is also an important consideration in which innovations we decide to pursue.
ADM: What are the outstanding linkages between the two sectors?
HOLT: The most obvious links for us are autonomous systems; the algorithms that we have developed to manage and control autonomy within our platforms is software engineering and artificial intelligence at its best. The breadth of capability we have across software intensive systems is a key strength.
We’re seeing the evolution of a very wide range of tech- nological research applied to commercial drones you can buy at JB HiFi through to something as sophisticated as the MQ-4C Triton high altitude long endurance UAS on order for the RAAF. This technology is moving fast, and to remain relevant, we must draw upon what we do best, to offer revolutionary innovations to Defence.
ADM: What size is SYPAQ’s workforce, and where? What’s been the impact of COVID-19?
HOLT: About 200 people. Headquarters is in Melbourne and that’s where the vast majority of our R&D and engineering production activity takes place. Canberra is obviously the centre of our services into government and Defence, but we also have people in Brisbane, Newcastle, Sydney, Adelaide, Perth and Darwin.
Melbourne is shut down and I’ve never been so desperate to get to Canberra! But we’ve been very fortunate because many of our systems are highly software-enabled, and the vast majority of our workforce has been able to work re- motely. The dedication we’ve had from our team through COVID has been heart-warming. We’re going to come out of this so much stronger and so ready to go.
ABOVE: The CORVO LEAAP is a larger variant of the original variant, being larger with better endurance.
LEFT: Amanda and her engineer speak to Minister for Defence Industry Melissa Price about their UAV work at a trade show.
SYPAQ
SYPAQ