In this episode, Defence Connect Analyst and Editor, Steve Kuper is joined by Scott Thompson of Lockheed Martin Australia, Platinum Partner of the Australian Defence Industry Awards, and two finalists in the SME of the Year (Metro) category: Craig Maynard, of Axiom Precision Manufacturing and Matt Wilcox of FifthDomain.

The four discuss defence industry's response to the COVID pandemic and the way defence businesses of all sizes have pivoted to support the economic response and collaborated to support the Australian defence supply chain.

They also discuss the evolution of Axiom and its participation in the global F-35 program, Maynard also details the transition of the company from an automotive manufacturing company to a specialist, high-performance aerospace and defence manufacturing business.

Wilcox details the expansion of FifthDomain since its foundation and the growing recognition by Government and Defence industry that Australian SMEs are willing and capable of meeting the exacting cybersecurity requirements expected in a contested era.

The four also deep dive into their immediate goals, objectives and challenges they foresee over the coming twelve to eighteen months and what they believe set them apart from the competition for this year's awards.

Defence Connect will continue to recognise the achievements of talented professionals in the lead up to the 2020 Australian Defence Industry Awards — despite a limited capacity to gather physically.

Registration is free for our live stream, which will be held at 8:15PM AEDT on Thursday, 26 November.

Register now to be a part of the Defence Connect 2020 Australian Defence Industry Awards Live Stream.