Australia’s CTD Program Funds Innovative R&D
The Australian government has increased funding for its military capability and technology demonstrator (CTD) program by $31.5 million over the next three financial years – effectively doubling the annual average expenditure on the program. Australia will invest $20 million in 12 new technology projects during the next financial year, including a handheld underwater sonar device to detect mines, blast resistant anti-mine material for Army vehicles, and flexible solar panels to generate power for ADF operations in the field (similar to the Konarka products DID has previously covered).
Technologies shortlisted for the 2005-06 CTD program also include ISRV, a system to detect moving objects in real-time from existing video surveillance sensors; “Cuttlefish” countermeasures for lightly armed ships against modern imaging radars, BAE with a safe landing aid for helicopters operating in poor visibility conditions, ultra-thin fiber-optic laser for underwater towed array sensors, software for collecting geospatial information from multiple sources, a system to exchange such information with operational areas, and advanced communication and data links.
Funding will be spread across several Australian companies and demonstrate a diverse range of innovative technologies. Firms involved in this year’s CTD programs include:
- Acacia Research
- ADI Limited
- Agent Oriented Software
- Alexander Tomlinson & Valkyrie Systems
- Armour Australia
- BAE Systems
- Daronmont Technologies
- ESRI Australia
- MediaWare Solutions
- Mostyn Enterprises
- Redfern Optical Components
- RIA Mobile GIS
- SAAB Systems
- Smart Technologies Australia
- Sustainable Technologies International
- Tenix Defense Systems
- Thales Underwater Systems
- URS Australia
The CTD program was first funded in July 1998 and presently comprises 38 active projects. Details regarding many of this year’s projects can be found in the 2005 release from the Australian Minister of Defence. A 2001 release is also included below, in order to provide a sense of the program’s evolution and past foci. To date about $116 million has been allocated to various projects.
Additional Readings & Sources
- Media Release: Senator the Hon. Robert Hill, Minister for Defence (June 15/05) – Funding For New Defence Technologies
- eDefense Online (June 16/05) – Australia Boosts Spending on Defense Tech
Media Release: The Hon. Dr. Brendan Nelson, MP, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence (Jun 19/01) – Government funds projects to boost Defence capability (N.B. 2001 release)
