Page 20 - Australian Defence Magazine Dec19-Jan20

20 DEFENCE BUSINESS PACIFIC
DECEMBER 2019 – JANUARY 2020 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
A STELLAR VISION FOR THE FUTURE
NIGEL PITTAWAY | SYDNEY
ONE of the regular features of a Pacific conference is the Chief Defence Scientist’s Breakfast, which provides an opportunity for invited guests to gain insight into DST’s current strategy and to hear a series of one-minute ‘pitches’ from scientists and technicians who have devel- oped a capability and are seeking to engage industry to bring it to market.
The 2019 event was hosted by Professor Tanya Monro for the first time since taking up her appointment as CDS in March. Prof. Monro began by providing an update of the government’s Next Generation Technologies Fund, which has now received in excess of 1,000 applications, 30 per cent of which were made by organisations which have not worked with Defence before.
“In 2018-19 we committed $44 million, bringing the total investment to date to $150 million and we’re in the process of ramping up to spend $100 million a year,” she said. “We cur- rently have collaborative projects on more than 130 research topics that are aligned with Defence priorities – this involves 24 Australian universities, 15 SMEs, the primes and the CSIRO.”
Prof. Monro is keen to harness science and technol- ogy to deliver niche sovereign advantages for Defence and has developed a series of Science Technology and
Research Shots (STARShots), which are mission-driven research programs in specific areas where these advan- tages are desired.
Each STARShot will have a three-star (or above) spon- sor and DST intends to partner with industry and academia from the outset.
“You are here because you are key partners with us in that next stage. I really encourage those conversations when we consult on each of those specific STARShots, which range from things like a Space Cloud, to SCBRN situational aware- ness,” she told guests.
“We’re in the process of hearing what others think, of re- fining them according to ADF input. Then, once we’ve done that, our job will be to down-select the STARS we shoot for first. And in doing so, I hope we set ourselves up to be able to deliver that major impact for Defence that our country needs in this time of rapid technological change and increasingly changing threat environment.” ■
BELOW: DST Group will focus their research efforts on a number of STARShot efforts going forward.
CREDIT