Defence Trailblazer has launched into 2025 announcing support for three groundbreaking South Australian projects, strengthening research collaboration and driving advancements across space, information intelligence and autonomous defence systems.

Enhancing space domain awareness

Adelaide-headquartered Space Machines Company, will lead a project on developing space-borne perception and intelligence technology for space domain awareness.

Backed by funding through the Accelerating Sovereign Industrial Capabilities program, the technology will enable host spacecraft to understand its immediate environment, identify objects and achieve co-orbital space control. The project will also construct a state-of-the-art robotics testbed to facilitate the development of payload prototypes.

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Advancing intelligence capabilities

Global leader in open-source intelligence solutions, Fivecast, has partnered with the University of Adelaide on tracking how influence spreads within online social networks. Supported through the Technology Development & Acceleration program, the project will target the grey zone activity of online influence, particularly as accelerated by technological advancements in AI. It will provide Defence with a content analysis tool for situational awareness and intelligence for operations planning.

With alignment to the Australia’s National Defence Strategy and AUKUS Pillar 2 Advanced Cyber capabilities, this initiative will strengthen Australia’s ability to process and analyse complex data for national security purposes.

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Revolutionising autonomous defence platforms

Praetorian Aeronautics will partner with the University of Adelaide on project, HADRIAN.

The Defence Trailblazer-funded project is an advanced AI-driven system designed to revolutionise command and control for autonomous defence platforms.

This next-generation system will use multi-agent reinforcement learning AI to process data from air, ground and maritime sensors, improving threat detection and countering the threat of low-cost, swarm-capable drones in challenging communication environments.

HADRIAN will support automating decision-making and reduce operator workload and improve real-time defence capabilities to combat rapidly evolving challenges in modern drone defence.

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These projects reinforce Defence Trailblazer’s commitment to strengthening Australia’s defence sovereign capabilities through supporting the development and commercialisation of new technologies and solutions.

With these innovations underway, Australia is building the technological foundations needed to address emerging threats and strengthen national security.

Visit the Defence Trailblazer website >