With his feet barely under the desk since the September 2013 election, Senator David Johnston has taken up the role of Defence Minister in the new Abbott Government, a role he held in Opposition. ADM Editor Katherine Ziesing spoke to him in late November about the challenges of the role and his plans for the portfolio.

A naval career spanning 35 years has seen Vice Admiral Ray Griggs progress from recruit radio operator to Chief of Navy. Now he faces the challenges of implementing significant new capabilities while boosting Navy’s technical and engineering resources at a time of economic stringency. He spoke to ADM’s Editor Katherine Ziesing about the challenges facing his organisation given the tide of shipbuilding programs on the horizon.

The Australian Army is in a period of de facto transition; winding down its presence in Afghanistan while progressing a new force structure and developing its amphibious skills.

In 10 years, Aspen Medical has gone from a handful of people in the back blocks of Canberra to an international company with interests on almost every continent on the globe providing turnkey health solutions to governments, militaries and private industry. Founder, CEO and MD Glenn Keys spoke with ADM Editor Katherine Ziesing about the journey and what the company is now up to now.

ADM editor Katherine Ziesing spoke to Raytheon’s Michael Ward early last month to get a sense of how the larger end of the Defence industry is coping with the market and the opportunities available. With a focus on SME engagement and programs, Ward was upbeat about future prospects.

Anecdotally, times have been tough for the SME end of Defence Industry. But as this month’s From the Source interviewee points out, that’s a broad spectrum of businesses who work across many areas of Defence. ADM Editor Katherine Ziesing recently spoke to AIDN national president Graham Priestnall about the SME and wider Defence industry landscape.

NIOA is best known for their work on the civil side of the ammunition business but have taken a huge leap by partnering with ATK for the Domestic Munitions Manufacturing Arrangements (DMMA) program. ADM Editor Katherine Ziesing spoke to managing director Robert Nioa to get his views on how to grow an SME, compete for major Defence programs and the challenges the business faces.

BAE Systems Detica is the newest branch of the well-known BAE Systems brand to hit our region. ADM Editor Katherine Ziesing spoke to managing director Richard Watson about the challenges in the ever growing cyber world and how Australia is preparing itself to cope with this new battlespace.

Every so often ADM moves away from the platform based companies to look at the service side of the Defence industry. Booz & Company Australia have been working behind the scenes in Defence for some time, looking to improve processes, management frameworks and generally make businesses work better. ADM Editor Katherine Ziesing spoke to Booz & Co director David Vrancic about the issues his company and the defence community face.

Australian Defence Magazine began life with its first issue in 1993 as the brainchild of managing editor Judy Hinz. Together with her husband Peter Masters, they were already involved in publishing in the defence/industry sector with the weekly Australian Defence News and the Directory of Defence Suppliers. This is the 221st edition of the magazine, and for the first time in ADM’s history, we take the opportunity with our From the Source interview to turn the spotlight on ourselves.

The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is about half way through a decade of massive transition. Close to their entire fleet is being replaced or upgraded in one way or another. Chief of Air Force Air Marshal Geoff Brown spoke to ADM Editor Katherine Ziesing about the challenges ahead for the organisation.

David Allot heads the biggest company in the land by people and turnover and has been in the job almost a year now. He spoke to ADM editor Katherine Ziesing about the challenges the company is facing across numerous domains and the work ahead of them in 2013.

When is a small business not a small business? When that business is Ultra Electronics Australia. Best known for its ability to draw internal collections of SMEs together for a best of breed solution, Ultra Electronics is making its presence known in Australia with its work on the AWD sonar. ADM Editor Katherine Ziesing spoke to managing director Doug Burd about where the company and where it’s going.

Plan Beersheba is the name given to the current suite of Army modernisation initiatives that ensure the organisation is positioned for the challenges of the future. ADM’s Senior correspondent Julian Kerr spoke with Major General Jeff Sengelman about the finer details of the plan and how it interacts with both legacy and future capabilities.

Four years ago, QinetiQ moved to Australian shores with the purchase of three successful SMEs (Ball Group, Novare and Australian Aerostructures) and has grown significantly since that time. The UK-based business appointed Alan Woolford as CEO in February this year and he spoke to ADM Editor Katherine Ziesing about where the business is headed now.

As the new Chief Operating Officer in the Department of Defence, Simon Lewis is the only Associate Secretary for the organisation. He spoke to ADM Editor Katherine Ziesing about how the role fits into the wider department, with a focus on infrastructure given his previous job. And of course, how he is trying to get across the breadth of responsibilities of the role.