Media Release

DefendTex has collaborated with #DSTG scientists and researchers to develop 3D printing of rocket boosters for space launch. It’s the fourth Cooperative Research Centres Project (CRC-P) DefendTex has partnered with DSTG on.

The collaboration allows for the printing of rocket boosters in the field, allowing #YourADF to have responsive capability. ‘These partnerships are a critical link between #scienceandtechnology and Australia’s #Defence,” says Julia O’Callaghan, Director University Engagement.

Media Enquiries – media@defendtex.com

DefendTex is pleased to announce that is has been awarded “Defence Innovator of the Year – Company” at the 2024 Australian Defence Industry Awards, held last night in Canberra. DefendTex received this recognition for its world leading long range guided munition, the Rocket Propelled Grenade 40mm Guided (RPG40-G), which is one of the most advanced light weight, long range, soldier portable guided munitions on the market. DefendTex CEO Travis Reddy, last night thanked the ADF for its support of the project to develop the technology.

DefendTex congratulates all of the finalists and winners at the 2024 Australian Defence Industry Awards. DefendTex is proud to be part of the Australian defence industry supporting other defence companies and universities through supply chain partnerships and research collaborations. DefendTex is deeply committed to offering advanced military technology to customers in Australia and abroad.

Travis Reddy also thanked DefendTex customers, partners and staff for their commitment to innovation and rising to the challenges associated with developing new technology.

Media Enquiries – media@defendtex.com

Avibras Indústria Aeroespacial and DefendTex remain committed to concluding the acquisition process, in accordance with the investment agreement signed by the parties. The investment agreement which remains in force, will conclude on the 30th July (“closing” of the transaction) allowing a capital injection into Avibras Indústria Aeroespacial from this date and resumption of operations. The parties will release any new information as it arises.

About Avibras:

Avibras is a Brazilian technology and innovation company with unique industrial capabilities, globally recognised for the excellence and quality of its products, systems, and engineering solutions in the Aerospace, Defense, Electronics, Vehicles, and Aeronautical sectors. With over 60 years of experience, Avibras has consolidated its position as one of the world’s leading companies in the Defense and Aerospace segments.

About DefendTex:

DefendTex is an international defense company headquartered in Australia and an established leader in multi-domain asymmetric warfare solutions. Providing world leading defense technologies, DefendTex’s capabilities include precision guided weapons, energetics, rocket manufacturing and loitering munitions. DefendTex has extensive experience in collaborative research, having commercialized ground breaking defense technologies.

Media Enquiries – media@defendtex.com

A rare opportunity for a veteran owned Australian company to secure more than 60 years of guided weapon technology, intellectual property and expertise is about to be lost due to the inaction of the Albanese Government in providing financial support.

DefendTex is in negotiations to acquire a Brazilian missile manufacturer, however it has now been reported by Sky News that a Chinese State-owned company, Norinco, is actively pursuing the same acquisition.

DefendTex CEO Travis Reddy stated, “the question is if China can see the value in the acquisition, with all of its industrial capacity, why can’t Australia see it?”

Australia is one of the only advanced economies in the world without a home grown, government backed defence prime contractor. According to Mr Reddy, “this means that Australia will always be dependent on other nations to provide any significant strike capability and it is time to change this”.

DefendTex seeks to bring significant missile capability to Australia. In order to secure this capability, support from the Australian Government in the form of a $70m loan from Export Finance Australia is being requested however, has not been forthcoming.

Mr Reddy added, “with Australian government support, we can establish a cost-effective missile manufacturing capability in Australia that will employ around 500 workers, keep the profits in the country, thereby generating exports and tax revenue”. Reddy added, “most importantly, we will have the manufacturing capability to defend ourselves in a time of conflict.

The requested support from the Australian Government will provide “one of those rare opportunities where there is no downside for the Australian Government” said Mr Reddy.

Time is running out to secure missile manufacturing for Australia and Mr Reddy added, “Prime Minister please heed my call, this is a vital issue for Australia’s national defence and a vital issue for our sovereignty.”

Based in Victoria, DefendTex is an Australian owned company with significant capability in unarmed systems, precision guided weapons and energetics.

Media Enquiries – media@defendtex.com

We’re proud to announce that we have again been named as finalist in the Defence Connect Australian Defence Industry Awards 2024 for Defence Innovator of the Year – Company.   We have also been named as finalists for Sovereign Industry Champion.   As a truly sovereign company, focused on building innovative Australian defence capability, it’s great to be recognised by industry amongst our finalist peers for leading innovation and capability development for the Australian defence industry. 

Media Enquiries – media@defendtex.com

Avibras Indústria Aeroespacial and DefendTex hereby announce that they have been engaged in advanced discussions to facilitate a potential investment aimed at the economic and financial recovery of Avibras, with the goal of maintaining its manufacturing facilities in Brazil, resuming operations as soon as possible, and ensuring the fulfillment of contractual obligations with the Brazilian government and other clients.

Both companies are committed and diligently working to finalize the specific terms and conditions of the investment and will keep the market informed.

About Avibras:

Avibras is a Brazilian technology and innovation company with unique industrial capabilities, globally recognized for the excellence and quality of its products, systems, and engineering solutions in the Aerospace, Defense, Electronics, Vehicles, and Aeronautical sectors. With over 60 years of experience, Avibras has consolidated its position as one of the world’s leading companies in the Defense and Aerospace segments.

About Defendtex:

DefendTex is an international defense company headquartered in Australia and an established leader in multi-domain asymmetric warfare solutions. Providing world leading defense technologies, DefendTex’s capabilities include precision guided weapons, energetics, rocket manufacturing and loitering munitions. DefendTex has extensive experience in collaborative research, having commercialized ground breaking defense technologies.

Media Enquiries – media@defendtex.com

DefendTex is proud to be awarded “Defence Innovator of the Year – Company” at the 2023 Australian Defence Industry Awards. It’s an honor to receive an award for the technologies and capabilities we’re developing and delivering to the Australian Defence Force, and our international allies, to keep our troops safe. In accepting the award, DefendTex CEO thanked our defence customers, academic partners and staff for their dedication and commitment to supporting defence innovation. 

Media Enquiries – media@defendtex.com

Australian owned defence technology development company DefendTex Research Labs, with research partners RMIT University, The University of Sydney and Universitat der Bundeswehr have achieved thermal management of Australia’s first completely additively manufactured Rotating Detonation Engine (RDE). A RDE is a type of engine that uses an annulus rather than a conventional combustion chamber to control a continuously rotating detonation wave, creating thrust for propulsion. This game changing achievement in rocketry reduces risk. Not only does an RDE combustor contain no moving parts, it operates on a pressure gain form of combustion which sets it apart from traditional rocket motors with an associated efficiency increase of 10-20%.

The Cooperative Research Centre Project, funded through the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources developed Australia’s first RDE. The RDE has been ground tested in a bespoke world class test facility over 750 times, remaining intact and operational. Historically, most conventional laboratory based RDEs have only operated for a few seconds without cooling before thermal degradation of material surfaces led to deficient engine performance and the need for costly repairs or total mechanical failure.

The RMIT University team of researchers and engineers led by project Technical Lead Associate Professor Adrian Pudsey developed the RDE which is capable of long duration operation under a wide range of power settings. “The flight scale engine was a huge technical challenge in terms of the design and systems integration in order to achieve thermal steady state operation. I am proud to have worked with such a great team across all of the participants. Together we met the challenges and delivered a highly successful project and an Australian first” said Adrian Pudsey. The project has enabled a unique hub of RDE knowledge and practical experience that will enable Australia to play a key role in this exciting new technology at an international level. While the technology has the potential to revolutionise propulsion and ground power generation, there is still a large amount research and development required to realise fully operational systems.

A unique feature of the complex design was the use of advanced manufacturing techniques. The RDE was entirely additively manufactured by the RMIT Centre for Additive Manufacturing (RCAM). The Centre Director and a member of the team, Professor Milan Brandt, said that “this project not only contributed the Centre expertise in the design and additive manufacture of metal alloys through Dr. Maciej Mazur and the RCAM technical staff, but also demonstrated the potential for additive technology to make new types of rocket propulsion systems with demanding performance requirements and operating conditions.”

The unique engine design brings together the traditional concept of cooling channels with creative advanced manufacturing to cool the engine under high thermal loads and non-uniform heat distribution in what is believed to be a world first. “We determined achievement of thermally stable and continuous operation when the engine was able to operate with no temperature increase after 18 seconds” says DefendTex CEO Travis Reddy.

The simulation and modelling work undertaken by the University of Sydney led by Professor Matthew Cleary provided the foundations from which to understand the thermal distribution. “The highly compressible mixing and reaction of fuel, oxidiser and products has a complex pattern and predicting this with modern computational fluid dynamics is critical to analysing the RDE design variations and, ultimately, achieving sustained detonation in an operational and thermally stable engine.”

The project that collaboratively engaged a dynamic team of engineers and researchers across both industry and academia successfully achieved this feat in 3 short years. DefendTex is keen to advance the development of the engine to real world flight trials.

Media Enquiries – media@defendtex.com

$3M in funding will be provided to produce Australia’s first 3D printed rocket booster for space, in Gippsland, regional Victoria. Project Lead, DefendTex along with project participants including the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University (RMIT) – Centre for Additive Manufacturing, Defence Science Technology Group (DSTG) and Rocketech Pty Ltd have demonstrated successful 3D printing of small-scale rocket motors in a previous CRC-P and this 3-year project will scale this to modular booster sizes capable of reaching space.

Travis Reddy, DefendTex CEO states “The novel approach of additive manufacturing will allow for reduced cost, waste and greater responsiveness for space access, enabling domestic production of commercial rocket boosters which translates to affordable space access for Australia’s emerging space industry.” While imported rocket boosters are available, the regulatory burden and cost combined with foreign government control on their use are significant barriers.

“DefendTex will use the funding to join with industry and research partners to address Australia’s space industry capability gap where there are no commercially available, domestically manufactured rocket boosters for launch in Australia.” Federal member for Gippsland Mr Chester said. “The project also has the potential to grow jobs in Gippsland and build the local economy.” DefendTex is one of two Gippsland companies to received funding under Round 11 of the Cooperative Research Centre Projects (CRC-Ps).

Media Enquiries – media@defendtex.com

Breakthrough space technology for Australian research consortium sees first successful Rotating Detonation Engine test bringing Australia closer to a sovereign space launch capability.

Australian research consortium led by DefendTex last week achieved Australia’s first successful test firing of a Rotating Detonation Engine (RDE) designed and developed as part of the Cooperative Research Centre Project for Responsive Access to Space. RDEs are a next generation propulsion technology which provide highly efficient propulsion, potentially unlocking applications such as high-speed flight or responsive space access.

DefendTex Chief Executive Travis Reddy said in relation to the successful test firing, “I am proud of the work of the researchers to achieve what is an Australian first, putting us in an elite list of countries who have successfully demonstrated this technology. With follow on efforts, this innovative Research and Development aims to provide a cost-effective alternative for responsive space access.”

Mr Reddy also stated, “a few years ago, little funding and support was available for early-stage research in space technology, and through the Cooperative Research Centre Program the opportunity for collaborative engagement between academia, industry and defence has been made possible. This is allowing Australia to rapidly strengthen capability and expertise in this field to achieve game changing breakthroughs, future-proofing our economy and capturing a greater share of the space launch market”.

The research, funded by the Commonwealth Cooperative Research Centre Programme would not have been possible without the support of the Australian government with contributions from DefendTex Pty Ltd, RMIT University, University of Sydney, University of South Australia, Department of Defence and international partner Universität der Bundeswehr.

Project technical lead and Senior Lecturer at RMIT University, Dr. Adrian Pudsey, said “this has been an exceptionally challenging project, but through a strong collaboration we have successfully developed a truly unique capability and demonstrated the know-how and science required to push the boundaries of this technology”. There is significant excitement around these initial successes demonstrated at the RMIT operated, DefendTex rocket engine test cell.

Although this technology is in the early stages of research, future development of RDE technology could lead to an integrated space launch system enabling sovereign Low Earth Orbit launch capability allowing Australia to launch satellites and other space assets. Once commercialised, the RDE could directly benefit Australia’s space industry and indirectly support telecommunications, agriculture, transport, logistics and other industries.

Mr Reddy continued, “The success of the RDE puts DefendTex and our research partners at the forefront of developing sovereign capability in propulsion system technology and high-speed flight having previously completed the CRC-P for Hydrocarbon Fuel Technology for Hypersonic Air Breathing Vehicles and development of the Defence funded rocket propulsion systems”.

Media Enquiries – media@defendtex.com