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

We start by looking at Lockheed Martin's recent press release stating that Australia is the first international F-35 customer to connect our simulators via the Distributed Mission Training network, but it's not clear whether this was just connecting the simulators in Williamtown and Tindal or whether they're connected to the US military as well. We suspect the former case is more realistic at this stage.

The discussion then shifts to the AUKUS Innovation Challenge once again as two contract winners from last year's Challenge are getting the opportunity to demonstrate their electronic warfare systems to Defence to see if they can obtain funding to advance to higher technology readiness levels. We also note that L3Harris Australia have announced they will enter this year's Challenge with a system previously demonstrated at Autonomous Warrior in 2024.

The next topic is the launch of the Lawful by Design initiative which aims to encourage Defence industry to abide by International Humanitarian Law, specifically in relation to autonomous weapon systems. It's an interesting approach and one we'll be keeping an eye on to see how Defence and industry respond.

We wrap the episode with a discussion about HII and Babcok (via their H&B Defence entity) winning a contract to enhance Australian sovereign supply chains for AUKUS. We then talk about the next issue of ADM and that we're in the last two weeks to get your Women in Defence Awards entries submitted.

Links:

RAAF connects F-35 Simulators to Lockheed Martin Network

www.australiandefence.com.au/news/news/raaf-connects-f-35-simulators-to-lockheed-martin-network

EW challengers to demonstrate to ASCA this year

www.australiandefence.com.au/news/news/ew-challengers-to-demonstrate-to-asca-this-year

L3Harris Australia puts its hand up for AUKUS maritime challenge

www.australiandefence.com.au/news/news/l3harris-australia-puts-its-hand-up-for-aukus-maritime-challenge

Lawful by Design encourages capability compliance

www.australiandefence.com.au/news/news/lawful-by-design-encourages-capability-compliance

H&B Defence wins supplier program contract

www.australiandefence.com.au/news/news/handb-defence-wins-supplier-program-contract

Women in Defence Awards

admwomenindefenceawards.com.au/

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The ADM Podcast is produced by Southern Skies Media on behalf of Australian Defence Magazine, a Yaffa Media title (www.australiandefence.com.au).

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ADM Podcasts are a blend of public interest journalism and sponsored content with a focus on the Defence community. Conversations with leaders and thinkers from a range of backgrounds including academia, Defence, industry, and associations. ADM Podcasts aims to educate, explain and explore some of the bigger issues around Defence.

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Hosted by Grant McHerron

Producer: Steve Visscher

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