Australia’s sovereign Information Warfare (IW) capabilities have been boosted with the establishment of an Australian Defence Industry-led consortium.
Announced at the Indo Pacific Expo in Sydney last week, the Australian Information Warfare Alliance (AIWA) brings together leading industry partners to collaborate on building the country’s Defence IW capabilities and deliver on AUKUS Pillar 2 capabilities.
The AIWA founding members include DEWC Services, Asension, SOIO - School of Information Operations, CyberOps and Elysium EPL.
Working closely with Defence and Academia on key IW priorities, the AIWA will deliver specialised IW capability and capacity, offering specialist support and expertise, training services, simulation and wargaming, sovereign research and development and in-house capability development.
AIWA spokesperson, Allan Dundas, said the new strategic alliance marks a significant advancement in Australia’s defence IW capability and will deliver innovative IW technologies and solutions for Defence.
“The Australian Information Warfare Alliance is a powerful collaboration of like-minded companies and organisations that are committed to mutually working together on advancing Australia’s IW capability and addressing national Defence IW imperatives,” Dundas said.
“In an age of big data, emerging technologies and increasingly modern and sophisticated threats, strengthening Australia’s IW and cyber capabilities is vital to ensuring a more agile, responsive and effective Australian Defence Force.”
“The AIWA will harness the collective technical expertise of its member organisations, which spans the full spectrum of IW solutions, including the research and development of IW systems and data products, cyber capabilities, strategic thinking, cognitive expertise and IW training and education experience.”
“We are looking forward to collaborating with our community and bringing fresh perspectives and integrated IW solutions that will meet the needs of our Defence Force and protect Australia’s national interests.”
Enhancing Australia’s Defence Information Warfare capabilities has been identified as a key priority in the Defence Strategic Review and is also a priority area in the AUKUS Pillar 2 technology program. The AIWA will align its goals to meet the requirements and objectives identified by state and federal governments.