Australia Military News, Reports, Data, etc.
- Thread starter lych470
- Start date
In short:
The cost of expanding Papua New Guinea's Lombrum naval base has more than doubled from the original $175 million price tag flagged by the federal government. Defence Minister Richard Marles revealed the cost blowout after joining PNG's Prime Minister James Marape at a rain-soaked ceremony on Manus Island. The high-profile project has been hit with delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic and disputes with local landowners.Another jobs for mates program, surely.
NRF takes $10m stake in scramjet engine startup
Hypersonix Launch Systems, a Brisbane-based aerospace startup developing a hydrogen-fuelled scramjet engine capable of reaching speeds of Mach 7, has secured a $10 million equity investment from the National Reconstruction Fund.
The investment — the fund’s first in the defence sector –is part of a $46 million Series A funding round led by UK dual-use tech investor High Tor Capital with Saab, the Queensland Investment Corporation and RKKVC, a Polish family office.
Hypersonix will use the funding to further develop its 3D-printed, reusable SPARTAN scramjet engine, which is scheduled for testing with the US military and NASA later this year aboard the company’s DART launch system.
Michael Smart, who developed the technology at the University of Queensland before co-founding the company with David Waterhouse in 2019, said the sovereign platform was a “breakthrough in reusable hypersonic flight”.
The company will also establish advanced manufacturing capabilities in Queensland, where it currently employs 45 people across roles like aerospace engineering, advanced manufacturing and testing.
NRF chief executive David Gall said Australia has long been a global leader in hypersonic technology, making it an area of huge potential as the company looks to build sovereign defence capability.
“Investing in Hypersonix will help to boost Australia’s aerospace capabilities by creating highly skilled design, engineering, and manufacturing jobs in regional Queensland,” Mr Gall said on Tuesday.
Hypersonix chief executive Matt Hill said the raise was a “major milestone” for the company and that having “Australia’s sovereign investor in manufacturing capability behind such a critical strategic capability sends a powerful message”.
“It shows real confidence in our mission and highlights the importance of building clean, reusable aerospace systems that meet today’s national security needs while shaping tomorrow’s industry,” he said.
I've worked for non-software startups. Most of them have grandiose claims that can't and don't pass scrutiny without massaging the shit out of the data, gaming the hell out of the test conditions, and/or heavily cherry picking the data. High Tor Capital, Saab, the Queensland Investment Corporation and RKKVC are probably just being played as suckers.NRF takes $10m stake in scramjet engine startup
Hypersonix Launch Systems, a Brisbane-based aerospace startup developing a hydrogen-fuelled scramjet engine capable of reaching speeds of Mach 7, has secured a $10 million equity investment from the National Reconstruction Fund.
The investment — the fund’s first in the defence sector –is part of a $46 million Series A funding round led by UK dual-use tech investor High Tor Capital with Saab, the Queensland Investment Corporation and RKKVC, a Polish family office.
Hypersonix will use the funding to further develop its 3D-printed, reusable SPARTAN scramjet engine, which is scheduled for testing with the US military and NASA later this year aboard the company’s DART launch system.
Hypersonix CEO Matt Hill and co-founder, CTO, head of engineering Michael Smart. Image: Supplied
Michael Smart, who developed the technology at the University of Queensland before co-founding the company with David Waterhouse in 2019, said the sovereign platform was a “breakthrough in reusable hypersonic flight”.
The company will also establish advanced manufacturing capabilities in Queensland, where it currently employs 45 people across roles like aerospace engineering, advanced manufacturing and testing.
NRF chief executive David Gall said Australia has long been a global leader in hypersonic technology, making it an area of huge potential as the company looks to build sovereign defence capability.
“Investing in Hypersonix will help to boost Australia’s aerospace capabilities by creating highly skilled design, engineering, and manufacturing jobs in regional Queensland,” Mr Gall said on Tuesday.
Hypersonix chief executive Matt Hill said the raise was a “major milestone” for the company and that having “Australia’s sovereign investor in manufacturing capability behind such a critical strategic capability sends a powerful message”.
“It shows real confidence in our mission and highlights the importance of building clean, reusable aerospace systems that meet today’s national security needs while shaping tomorrow’s industry,” he said.
In this case, my bet would be that they're not actually reusable. They will bring the used ones back in and replace them with new ones, pretending they've been refurbished, when they're actually just entirely new or have had many parts swapped out. By the time anyone figures this out, they'll have already minted some new hundred-millionaires or billionaires who are laughing their way to the bank.
Last edited: