The Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator (ASCA) is seeking responses from Australian industry and research institutes in relation to the development of sovereign uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) and trusted autonomy capabilities.
Defence, through the ASCA, seeks to support Australian industrial capability, in particular for small, general-purpose systems that can be produced at greater scale, to service a wide range of applications. These systems should support flexibility and interoperability through open architecture to enable future development of innovative applications.
The ASCA has released a Request for Information tender to support the planning and development of innovative applications of existing uncrewed aerial systems, including applications involving increased autonomy. Responses to the RFI will inform Defence’s approach to developing this capability, which is expected to include Defence-industry workshops and collaborative development.
The Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator was launched in July 2023 and replaces the Defence Innovation Hub and the Next Generation Technologies Fund. It's goal is to connect and streamline Defence innovation, science, and technology systems, driving capability development and acquisition pathways.
The Request for Information tender was release on 31 July and closes 21 August.