The 2026 ADM Northern Australia Defence Summit was held at the Darwin Convention Centre on 28 April, and more than 400 delegates were in attendance to hear how important the north is to regional security | Kirra Davey & Nigel Pittaway

Planning for Australia’s largest military exercise – Talisman Sabre – is well underway, with international partners having the opportunity to meet with each other, and Australian planning colleagues, in Canberra recently.

Defence has awarded $6.2 million to three Australian-based companies as part of the 2025 AUKUS Maritime Innovation Challenge.

The Australian Army has reinforced its long-standing relationship with one of Australia's closest allies with the signing of the renewed Plan ANZAC.

The capability that aided Lockheed Martin Australia’s formation outside of the United States, the Tactical Air Defence Radar System, has reached 20 years of sustainment | Kirra Davey

The caretaker Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer, announced the UK's Defence Investment Plan on 30 June 2026. The plan has featured parts on the UK's commitment to AUKUS and the UK-Australia defence partnership | Kirra Davey

The Australian Government has released the 2026 Defence Industry Development Strategy, outlining how the government claims it will strengthen Australia’s sovereign defence industrial base and boost self-reliance.

Sydney-based autonomous aviation company Carbonix has achieved Safety Assurance Integrity Level III certification for a drone. 

In the latest round of the Defence Industry Development Grants program, more than $22 million has been awarded to 60 Australian businesses.

The government has released the third of its top-level defence documents for 2026, the Defence Industry Development Strategy, which features a series of targeted measures to grow Australia’s sovereign defence industrial base | Max Blenkin

Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy has assured defence industry that broad ranging defence procurement reforms starting on 1 July 2026 would deliver a smarter and more efficient customer who is more up for taking risks | Max Blenkin

Weststar Defence Industries has entered into a Strategic Joint Venture Agreement with Australian aerospace and defence technology company Rocket Technologies International to establish new joint venture companies in Malaysia and Australia.

We’ve had two big defence funding documents from the Government in quick succession. The first, the 2026 National Defence Strategy (and its supporting Integrated Investment Program) sets out the big picture over the coming decade | Marcus Hellyer

Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy says the new Defence Delivery Agency won’t just be version 2.0 of its predecessor, current Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group | Max Blenkin

Eighty Australian Defence Force personnel will deploy across Japan, Hawaii, Guam, and Australia to test their response to security challenges in the Pacific for Exercise Valiant Shield.

Tokyo is considering setting up a Japanese version of the US Foreign Military Sales program as it steps up efforts to become a major defence supplier, according to statements from Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi | Corey Lee Bell