Babcock Australasia has signed an MoU with US-based PteroDynamics to explore opportunities for PteroDynamics' Transwing Uncrewed Aerial System (UAS) in Australia and New Zealand.
"Australia and New Zealand are leaders in the advancement of autonomous UAS, and opportunities for the Transwing in the region’s civil, defence and commercial sectors will expand quickly. Babcock is a world-class organization with decades of experience and deep working relationships with key customers," said PteroDynamics CEO Matthew Graczyk.
"We are excited to explore together new ways to meet current and future needs of operators in a region of growing strategic importance.”
The MoU will see the two companies collaborate on bringing the Transwing into local civil and military markets. PteroDynamics will also provide training for Babcock Australasia's teams. Transwing was employed by the US Navy during Exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2024 to perform ship-to-ship and ship-to-shore logistics and maritime resupply missions from a US Navy guided-missile destroyer.
“We are pleased to forge this strategic relationship with PteroDynamics. We can see many complementary capabilities between our two businesses, and we look forward to pursuing these opportunities in the UAS sector together," said Babcock Australasia's Managing Director of Aviation & Critical Services, Duncan Milne.
“This type of advanced technology has any number of applications, including surveillance, infrastructure management and disaster relief, which makes it particularly well aligned with Australian Defence Force priorities.”