DEWC Services and Adelaide University have started to collaborate on new research into advance sovereign AI-enabled decision-support capabilities for Australia’s Defence sector.
“While these approaches may be workable today, they will not scale in high-tempo operations because they limit Defence’s ability to integrate new technologies at the pace demanded by the strategic environment,” DEWC Services Product Manager, Anthony Kunda said.
“Defence personnel should not have to act as the integration layer between disconnected systems.”
The project will translate advanced research in User Experience (UX), Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML) into an operationally relevant open architecture capability designed to support faster and more effective decision-making in contested environments.
The research project is led by Adelaide University Professor Claudia Szabo with Kunda. The program is supported by funding from Defence Trailblazer’s Technology Development & Acceleration portfolio, which focuses on translating priority research into deployable Defence capability.
Through its long-term partnership with Defence, DEWC Services has identified a recurring operational challenge for Defence users, who are often required to work across closed vendor-specific systems that do not interoperate effectively. This results in time-consuming manual workflows and places the burden of system integration on personnel rather than software.
This research collaboration will develop an open vendor-agnostic software architecture to support semi-automated decision-support system, helping to reduce friction in Defence workflows.
It builds on UX smart application and AI and ML concepts incubated by DEWC Services, the Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG), and other research partners, including at Adelaide University.
“The architecture will prioritise interoperability within Defence’s current network-centric environment, while supporting a transition toward datacentric operations," Szabo stated.
A key feature will be the use of natural language and other skill-agnostic user interfaces, enabling users to rapidly instantiate analysis and processing capabilities based on operational context.
“Better outcomes do not come from algorithms alone. They come from systems that are usable, trustworthy and aligned with how people work under pressure,” Szabo said.
Defence Trailblazer Executive Director, Sanjay Mazumdar said the project reflects the program’s focus on translation and impact.
“This research is about moving beyond prototypes and developing architectures that can be tested, trusted and evolved within real Defence environments,” Mazumdar said.
“This is the role of Defence Trailblazer. We exist to move ideas faster from concept to sovereign capability and this project is well aligned with that mission,” he said.
The collaboration has been driven by Australia’s changing strategic environment. The 2024 National Defence Strategy (NDS) highlighted increasing strategic competition, alongside rapid technological change, compressed decision timelines, and growing grey-zone activity. Potential adversaries are investing heavily across multiple domains and accelerating their adoption of advanced technologies.