In this News Review episode, Grant McHerron, Ewen Levick and Kirra Davey review and discuss some of the recent news of interest that's occurred recently in the world of Defence.

We kick off with the news that the government has announced a first block of contracts worth about $19 million under the Land 156 program. A number of companies are included, such as Droneshied which received about one third of the funds, and a Ukrainian drone detector system called Sugar V that is carried by soldiers to warn them of approaching drones. There's more to be announced though as there was no mention of a system integrator nor other companies that provide kinetic and energy weapons for destroying drones. Hopefully the procurements include access to on-going updates over the life of the gear as the Ukranian battlefield is demonstrating the speed of change and critical need to stay current.

The discussion then moved on to the recent firing of a US Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) during Talisman Sabre from a US HiMARS vehicle that had been flown to Christmas Island by a Canadian CC-177 (aka C-17A) with target coordinates supplied by the ADF. We look at the likely range of the PrSM and the control over sea lanes that such a weapon can provide Australia, especially with the "Shoot and Scoot" capability thanks to the vehicle being deployed by an airlifter. This is aligned with the DSR's focus on long range missiles and the potential for sovereign build via GWEO.

We also mention the Japanese Ground Self Defence Force firing two missiles at a NSW range which took separate sea skimming paths to simultaneously hit the same target from different directions.

Sticking with Talisman Sabre, we wrap up by discussing Hoverfly supplying their Sentry Tethered UAS to the ADF through the Australian company Maser Defence for trials at major exercises during 2025. Although neither company could provide more information, it is very likely that it has been used at Talisman Sabre to perform the role of a communications relay. We also discuss how news of this was not circulated to Australian media and the efforts required to obtain information for the article.

Links:

Popular Ukrainian drone detector amongst Land 156 winners

www.australiandefence.com.au/news/news/popular-ukrainian-drone-detector-amongst-land-156-winners

Talisman Sabre trials long-range fires

www.australiandefence.com.au/news/news/talisman-sabre-trials-long-range-fires

Hoverfly Tethered UAS in Trials During Major ADF Exercises

www.australiandefence.com.au/news/news/hoverfly-tethered-uas-in-trials-during-major-adf-exercises

ADM Women in Defence Network

admwomenindefencenetwork.com.au

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