South Australian researchers have secured $600,000 from the recently established Defence Innovation Partnership to conduct collaborative defence research activities with local and international partners.

The funding will support four projects, which were selected from a pool of high-quality applications and cover a range of areas of interest to the Australian Department of Defence.

Premier Steven Marshall said the projects will provide the opportunity to develop ground-breaking technology in South Australia, demonstrating our state’s research strengths.

“These research projects will see some of the best researchers in the world teaming up to develop technology that will have broad applications for defence,” said Premier Steven Marshall.

“All three of South Australia’s world-class universities are leading projects with key partners from the defence industry as well as interstate and international universities, which is fantastic news.

“Defence research and development is a key priority for South Australia’s broader defence strategy, and is critical to ensure that we maximise the full extent of the Turnbull Coalition Government’s $200 billion defence capability build up.

The Defence Innovation Partnership is about fostering collaboration across the Federal Government, through Defence Science and Technology, industry, South Australia’s three universities, and the South Australian Government.

Chair of the Defence Innovation Partnership Advisory Board, Kim Scott, welcomed the high levels of collaboration evident in the grant applications.

“The Collaborative Research Grants Program is stimulating conversations between researchers and industry that might not have occurred otherwise.” Mr Scott said.

“The close involvement of Defence will ensure the projects are relevant to support our Australian Defence Forces.”

The Defence Innovation Partnership was established in January 2018 and is a collaborative initiative of Defence SA, Defence Science and Technology, the University of Adelaide, Flinders University and the University of South Australia.

The Defence Innovation Partnership’s Collaborative Research Grants program supports genuine collaboration between South Australian researchers and partners from industry and government. In addition to the requirement for collaboration, project proposals must also demonstrate desirability for Defence.

The four funded projects are:

  • $149,450 for Next Generation Solutions for Passive Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar (ISAR) and Improved Situational Awareness, led by the University of South Australia with partners the University of Adelaide, Defence Science and Technology, Silentium Defence, and Villanova University (USA)
  • $150,000 for Realising the benefit of augmented reality devices in military applications, led by the University of Adelaide with partners Flinders University, University of South Australia, Defence Science and Technology, Rheinmetall, University of Western Australia, and University of Melbourne
  • $150,000 for Developing Autonomous Seakeeping Capability for Unmanned Surface Vessels, led by Flinders University with partners Defence Science and Technology, the University of Adelaide, Acacia Research
  • $150,00 for Economical Technologies for the Detection and Remediation of Water Contaminated with Perfluorinated Substances, led by Flinders University with partners University of South Australia, Puratap and the University of Newcastle

Download the release PDF.