A record number of eight Defence Capability and Technology Demonstrator (CTD) projects have
just been approved. This is very welcome
news for industry following last year’s cancellation of CTD Round 16.
“After a national ‘recruiting offensive’, in which CTD staff
presented to industry gatherings Australia wide, industry backed us 107 per
cent by submitted 107 technology proposals to improve our defence capability,”
Dr Alan Hinge, Director of the DSTO’s CTD Program said. “Twenty-seven
proposals, including the five finalists from CTD Round 16, were shortlisted and
we had the money to buy eight.”
The following eight successful Round 17 CTD projects are due
to start in July:
Wideband Adaptive
Interference Canceller CTD with Ultra Electronics – Avalon Systems Pty Ltd,
aims to protect EW systems from on-board communications emitters, principally
microwave SATCOM and Tactical Data Links, and from strong off-board
emissions. These emissions cause data
link interference on many ships and while the CTD focuses on ship-based
interference, the technology could equally be applied to airborne platforms and
land vehicles.
Combat Helmet System with
High Powered Rifle and Increased Fragment Protection – Armor Composite
Engineering Pty Ltd, aims to apply a new bonding and laminating system that
allows monolithic advanced ceramic helmet shells to be manufactured into viable
light weight composite infantry helmets. These can offer improved multi-hit
protection from common threats, such as 7.62mm rifle projectiles and larger
fragment impacts.
Cloudlets to Support
Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) Services in Disconnected Environments –
SMS Management and Technology Ltd will develop techniques for managing data
synchronisation and protection before, during and after a network disruption /
disconnection event to avoid loss of critical operational data or loss of
ability to share updates.
Passive Radar with BAE
Systems Australia Ltd (and Daronmont Technologies) aims to demonstrate a
Passive Radar system which is non-transmitting and allows for early warning. A
Passive Radar test bed would be used that is scalable and applicable to all
three arms of the Australian Defence Force (ADF).
“Significantly, Cloudlets and Passive Radar were CTD Round
16 proposals that re-competed and got up – so, persistence with CTD proposals
can really pay off,” Dr Hinge said.
SAVIOUR – Sensor
Augmented Vision for Improved Operation of Rotorcraft in a Degraded Visual
Environment with Rheinmetall Simulation Australia Pty Ltd, aims to develop
a system to reduce the probability of helo accidents caused by spatial
disorientation and loss of situational awareness. SAVIOUR could provide aircrew
with an all-direction, augmented view of the outside environment, enhancing
helo operations in the worst degraded visual environments – dust, storms, snow
and zero light – and assist with obstacle avoidance.
“Given the ADF will be sending a lot more helicopters to
sea, SAVIOUR’s potential is clear,” Dr Hinge, a physicist and former naval
officer, said. “And its potential impact on helo and crew safety is
complemented by our recently completed PEGASUS CTD, done with L3 Nautronix and
One Atmosphere Australia, which demonstrated light weight, detachable
floatation bags that inflate at depths of 10 metre or less to get downed helos
and their people back to the surface.”
Photonic Enhanced RF
Front End with University of Sydney (with Micreo Ltd), leverages
breakthroughs in photonic signal processing to develop a miniaturised on-chip
photonic enhanced RF front-end. Photonic
processing moves high volumes of data within constrained pathways, has
high-resolution and tuneable filtering for discriminating small, smart targets
at a fast speed.
CEA Technologies Pty Ltd, which has bid for CTDs over many
years, won the following two Round 17 CTDs.
Active Electronic
Scanned Array for High Bandwidth Data Link Communication with CEA
Technologies aims to develop a capability for a high bandwidth, ship-to-ship
communication link using the Active Electronically Scanned Array installed on
ANZAC Class Frigates as part of Defence’s Sea 1448 Phase 2B – Anti-Ship Missile
Defence Upgrade.
CEA Missile Simulation
Target (CEAMIST) – CEA will also design, construct and test a Missile
Simulator Target that can be fired from the main gun on an ANZAC Class Frigate
for the purpose of testing, calibration and conducting training exercises with
a warship’s Anti-Ship Missile Defence (ASMD) Radar. The Missile Simulator Target could present a
supersonic, small radar cross section target that will mimic an Anti-Ship
Missile in a low-cost readily available package.
Dr Hinge believes that better CTD Program teaming with
Australian industry leads to picking more and more innovation ‘winners’. He
cites University of Queensland Business School research stating that, “The
success rate of the CTD Program in taking technologies to the point of
demonstration is 90% and the commercial success of new technologies that are
developed in the CTD program rival private sector new product development
success rates”.
He adds that the following conclusions are based on 117
contracted CTD projects since 1998, with 104 completed to date:
- more than 1 in 3 completed CTD projects are either in use or could potentially be in use with Defence;
- more than 1 in 5 CTD projects have been developed further from the initial successful CTD;
- more than 1 in 6 CTD projects are “World Leading” developments;
- more than 1 in 3 completed projects have influenced/informed defence procurement in some way; and
- only 1 in 8 CTD projects either fail to achieve Target Performance Measures (TPM) or are terminated;
“While getting a CTD is very highly competitive, smaller
companies can clinch one – just look at Armor Composite Engineering in Sydney
and Adelaide’s Ultra Electronics / Avalon Systems this year. After all, half of
the 104 CTDs awarded since 1998 have been were to Small to Medium Enterprises.
I’d suggest that any Australian company or research outfit capable of engaging
in defence related innovation should keep an eye out for and maybe ‘buy a ticket’
in the upcoming CTD Round 18. You’ve got to be in it to win it,” Dr Hinge said.
CTD Round 18 proposals will be called for in this month for
an early July submission date.
More information on the CTD Program is at
http://www.dsto.defence.gov.au/ctd/