In this episode, we present four of the interviews we recorded at Land Forces 2024.

The first is with Cathy O'Carroll, Campaign Director, and Graeme Bick, Chief Solution Architect, Global Test and Evaluation Campaign from QinetiQ:

We discuss QinetiQ's background in both Australia and the UK, then get an insight into the lifecycle of developing, testing, and maintaining weapon systems, including Australia's GWEO programme. The discussion covers the range of effort involved in T&E for long range fires, the management required for large datasets, the challenges in the recruitment of engineers, and the importance of testing during exercises in the UK and Australia.

Our second interview is with Brent Clark, the CEO of the Australian Industry & Defence Network (AIDN):

We discuss the challenges SMEs are facing in the Defence industry and that it's time for the government to start issuing contracts to sovereign providers. Brent also tells us how AIDN is working to advise the government, and the likely work associated with the GWEO and shipbuilding programmes. We also review the urgent need for skills in engineering, technician, trades, and project management.

Next up is Amanda Holt, CEO of SYPAQ:

We discuss SYPAQ's recent successes and the recent signing of their DEF129 contract. Amanda acknowledges the support they've had from Army then provides advice for other SMEs who are experiencing difficulties obtaining contracts.

Our final interview for this episode is with Paul Fermo, Vice President of Business Development at Ascent AeroSystems:

We discuss the inspiration behind the company's patented coaxial drone architecture which offers a modular, all-weather, open architecture platform for portability and scalability. We explore Ascent’s range of products and solutions for the UAS/UAV ecosystem for military operations as well as first responders, and industrial and infrastructure enterprise operations including ISR, inspection and searching incident sites.

LINKS:

QinetiQ T&E: www.qinetiq.com/en-au/what-we-do/test-and-evaluation

AIDN: aidn.org.au

SYPAQ: www.sypaq.com.au

Ascent AeroSystems: ascentaerosystems.com

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