Australia Defence Team Provides Smart Niche Technologies

Defence Turkey: Could you please enlighten us about Australian Defence Industry’s core capabilities and R&D activities? 

The Australian Defence Industry or in fact Australian industry generally is a very innovative industry. Its core capabilities are around smart, niche technologies. We make a few platforms primarily ships such as Austal, we make protective vehicles, very famous bushmaster vehicles from Australia but the majority of industry in Australia is based around R&D and smart niche technologies. It may be interesting to reveal to know that the Wi-Fi technology was developed in Australia as well as Google Maps was developed in Australia, while they are not defence industries, they are indicative of the smart niche capabilities to be developed. So our core capabilities in Australia focused around technology, services and very smart niche capabilities.

Defence Turkey: Could you please inform us about the collaboration with Turkish Defence companies in the past and present?

This mission from Team Defence Australia, which is the Australian government supporting our industry into various export markets in particularly Turkey. This is the second visit to Turkey but our first participation in IDEF. We brought a delegation of companies; some of them are here today to Turkey twelve months ago to visit and start to meet some of the major industry players in Turkey. We met with Aselsan, Havelsan, Roketsan… That was our first effort to find out about the market so there are not many companies and they are not here right now doing business with Turkish Defence industry. There are however some companies who have been engaged to provide some services and there are other companies from Australia who are not on this mission who have some engagement with Turkish industry but I do not know the details.

Defence Turkey: How do you assess your plans focused on investment, partnerships and strategic structure in Turkey?

For Australian industry, because its mainly about small industry with niche technologies, our future is going to be around strategic partnering with major Turkish industry people, and that’s been focused all of the engagement of our Team Defence Australia delegates this week. I have been meeting with and talking with a lot of Turkish industry people to find strategic partnering.  That will in turn drive investment decisions on behalf of companies. The Australian government supports our industry through Team Defence Australia activities such as participating IDEF, conducting trade missions and meeting with companies overseas and we will continue to do that.

Defence Turkey: Thanks for the interview.

My pleasure…