Australian Defence Magazine Podcast

In this News Review episode, Grant McHerron, Ewen Levick and Ben Felton review and discuss some of the recent news of interest from Australia, the USA and the Asia / Pacific region. We start by discussing the announcement that Kongsberg has received $850m from the Australian Government to build a new factory at Newcastle Airport for production of missiles and to qualify Australian companies for it...

In this episode, we’re changing the format a little as Grant McHerron, Ewen Levick and Ben Felton review and discuss some of the recent news of interest from Australia, the USA and the Asia / Pacific region. We start the discussion with the big news that the Prime Minister has reshuffled his ministers with Pat Conroy being promoted to Cabinet, Matt Thistlethwaite leaving the Defence portfolio, and...

In this episode, Grant McHerron and Ewen Levick talk with Rob Sutton, Managing Director of Mirragin, about a Defence ecosystem for Robotics and Autonomous Systems (RAS). We kick off the discussion by getting an overview of how Defence is currently engaging with and expanding on RAS, with insights into what is needed to build a functioning sovereign ecosystem, and the important services it can prov...

In this episode we're featuring audio recorded at the AutogenAI Executive Exchange luncheon event held recently in Canberra, which was live streamed to the ADM YouTube channel.  Sean Williams, the founder and global CEO of AutogenAI, takes centre stage, sharing his journey to founding AutogenAI and his career evolution from writing tender responses to tech enthusiast. He unveils the astonishi...

In this episode, Grant McHerron and Ewen Levick talk with Mark Stevens, Managing Partner of Periscope Capital Partners and Managing Director of Arican, about Periscope and private capital for Defence industry. We kick off the discussion by reviewing the difficulties the industry faces when trying to access private capital, and Mark gives us an overview of the goals of Periscope Capital Partners to...

In this episode, Grant McHerron and Ewen Levick talk with Michael Shoebridge, Founder and Director of Strategic Analysis Australia, about the government’s recently released response to the Surface Fleet Review and other topics. We start off with Michael’s first impressions on the Surface Fleet Review, with concerns surrounding its lack of funding, outdated focus on going big, and delays in deliver...

In this episode, Grant McHerron talks with Phil Guy, Managing Director of Alkath Group, and David Devine, General Manager of Mellori Solutions, about Electromagnetic Spectrum Operations, or EMSO. We get an overview of how the electromagnetic (EM) spectrum is used to transmit data for communication and navigations across multiple domains. We also get an insight into the possibility for the unificat...

During Indo Pacific 2023, Grant McHerron talked with George McGuire, CEO of Sentinel Boats. We get an update following their recent delivery of their Sentinels to the NZ Navy equipped with a robust recyclable HDPE hull, which is highly durable, capable, and adaptable in emergency, industrial, and military environments. The discussion also explores their partnership with L3Harris to deploy autonomo...

During Indo Pacific 2023, Grant McHerron was able to meet with David Goodrich OAM, Executive Chairman & Chief Executive at Anduril Australia & Asia Pacific, and Dr Shane Arnott, Senior Vice President Engineering at Anduril Industries. We discuss their Ghost Shark program that is utilising a number of local suppliers to deliver Australian developed autonomous undersea vehicles, and their fo...

During Indo Pacific 2023, Grant McHerron met with Fabian Knechtl, Managing Director of Schiebel Pacific, to discuss the impacts of the current government's delays to Project Sea 129 Phase 5 Block 1, and Schiebel Pacific's civilian work with their Camcopter system. We discuss how Schiebel is responding to the delay of Phase 5, their work with other navies in the Pacific, and the benefits that their...

During Indo Pacific 2023, Grant McHerron met with Chris Muskett, Maritime Engineering Director at BAE Systems, regarding the modified Hunter class frigate design they unveiled at the event, featuring 96 Vertical Launch System (VLS) cells instead of the current design’s 32. Chris gives us an insight into their prioritisation of missiles and long range strike, whilst maintaining their foundational A...

In this episode, Grant McHerron and Ewen Levick talk with Mark Stevens, founder of Arican Advisory Capital , regarding the struggles faced by Defence industry from on-going governmental delays in decisions and funding. Mark gives us his views on the widespread disruption to providers caused by lack of funding, growing gaps in capability, and delays in procurement decisions. We discuss concerns fro...

In this episode, Grant McHerron catches up with Ewen Levick, Publisher of ADM, and Nigel Pittaway, Editor of ADM, to discuss what they've seen at the Indo Pacific 2023 event and the general mood they're getting from exhibitors as delays in decisions and funding from government are causing issues for Primes and SMEs alike. LINKS: Indo Pacific 2023 Event: www.indopacificexpo.com.au/ ----------------...

In this episode, Grant McHerron was at the Indo Pacific 2023 event opening's ministerial press conference, recording the full Q&A with the Acting Prime Minister & Minister for Defence, the Honorable Richard Marles MP, and the Chief of Navy, Vice Admiral Mark D. Hammond. This includes questions from the reporters present on topics such as China's lack of presence at the event, F-35s on the...

In this episode, Grant McHerron talks with Rob Slaven, Defence Business Development Director at Serco Asia-Pacific, and Ryan Maatta, Marine Engineering Manager at Serco North America, about their involvement with DARPA's No Mariners Required Ship (NOMARS) program. We get an insight into how the NOMARS program is adapting available off the shelf technologies to build an uncrewed vessel that can sta...

In this episode, Grant McHerron & Ewen Levick talk with Marcus Hellyer, Defence and strategic policy analyst with Strategic Analysis Australia, about his views on China’s military buildup, its push into the South China Sea, the Taiwan situation and the potential for war. We discuss China’s current power and status, with perspectives surrounding balancing investments into economy and military c...

In this episode, we discuss ADM’s new 30 Under 30 initiative , which seeks to recognise Australia’s best and brightest and also showcase the rewarding careers available in the Australian Defence Force and Defence Industry. We’ve brought together some sponsor representatives and winners of the Women in Defence Rising Star category to discuss the importance of this new initiative.  Appearing in...

In this episode, Grant McHerron & Ewen Levick talk with Mick Ryan, retired Australian Army Major General & military strategist, about his views on the Ukrainian counter offensive that’s currently underway. Mick’s experience as a military strategist gives us insights into President Zelensky's decision to defend Bakhmut, their breach into Russia’s main defensive zone, and Russia’s progress i...

In this episode, Grant McHerron talks with Mark Stevens, Managing Director at Arican, about his views on a number of topics relating to the Army as it adjusts following the Defence Strategic Review. We kick off the discussion by reviewing Hanwa’s contract to build their Redback IFV’s, the Army’s progress in restructuring, and the factors surrounding the acquisition of platforms in Defence sectors....

In this episode, Grant McHerron talks with Brent Clark, CEO of the Australian Industry & Defence Network (AIDN), about the recently introduced moratorium on hiring Above the Line contractors immediately from Defence ranks or APS staff. We start off by reviewing the role of AIDN in Defence and the differences between Above and Below the Line contractors. We explore the factors contributing to t...

In this episode, Grant McHerron talks with Graham Wallace, Managing Director for Europe at Senetas, about their Project Orthos and securing data within and between vessels. We discuss Senetas’s encryption solutions and get an insight into Project Orthos, which learns a network's standard operations and provides protection to global systems by blocking potential threats. We explore how the Orthos e...

In this episode, Grant McHerron & Ewen Levick talk with Marcus Hellyer about the recent federal government budget and its impacts on Defence. Marcus gives us an insight into key details of the budget, with discussions surrounding the challenges and future of sustainment, the relationship between capability and cost, and projection of whether the budget and GDP growth will support the implement...

In this episode, Grant McHerron & Ewen Levick talk with Brigadier (Retd) Ian Langford, formerly Head of Land Capability with Army, about his views on the Defence Strategic Review and AUKUS. We discuss the DSR's implications for Army’s role and a rebalancing with fewer IFVs but more long range strike. The discussion explores whether Defence can recruit and retain enough uniform staff, the facto...

In this episode, Grant McHerron and Ewen Levick talk with Mark Stevens, founder of Arican Advisory Capital, regarding the Defence Strategic Review’s impacts on Australian Defence Industry.  This in depth discussion assesses the impacts of the reduction in Army's new vehicles, the response from Army, and the challenges surrounding increasing sovereign capability. We also explore the domestic i...

In this episode, Grant McHerron talks with Mark Fortugno, Chief Financial Officer at WithYouWithMe, regarding small to medium businesses engaging with Defence and skilling the workforce. We discuss how SMEs can collaborate with Primes for Defence contracts, as well as improve their acquisition cycles and foster innovation. We also review our sovereign capability and the factors surrounding why the...