100% Locally Owned, Independent and Free

100% Locally Owned, Independent and Free

Combat drones: Sunshine Coast's key role in boosting nation's defence capabilities

Do you have a news tip? Click here to send to our news team.

Two seriously injured in bicycle and motorbike collision

UPDATE: A teenage boy involved a severe crash on Tuesday is now in a stable condition at the Queensland Children’s Hospital. EARLIER: A teenage boy More

Art meets tech: program sparks creativity

A program is offering local artists and technologists an opportunity to develop their ideas through workshops and mentorships, with a financial boost. Sunshine Coast Council’s More

Photo of the day: dog on dawn patrol

"Carly is happy to accompany me on dawn turtle patrol at Sunrise and Castaways beaches," says Penny Robertson. If you have a photo of the More

Tourists splash out in summer holiday hotspots

Australians have flocked to their favourite seaside towns during the holiday break and pushed up the average tourism spend in major hotspots by 130 More

Bargain buys: where to find Coast’s top 10 cheapest streets

A new list of the Sunshine Coast’s most affordable streets has been revealed, with a mix of addresses in the region’s oldest and newest More

More over-water flights wanted in bid to reduce aircraft noise

A Sunshine Coast resident has questioned when the same noise reduction directive given for Brisbane Airport operations will be applied to Sunshine Coast Airport. Federal More

A Sunshine Coast business will work with Boeing Defence and other companies to help build new combat drones for the Australian Army.

The pilotless MQ-28A Ghost Bat will be the first combat aircraft produced in Australia in nearly 50 years, with Federal Government investment worth $34 million.

The defence drones can fly alongside airforce jets, acting as an uncrewed fighter, jammer, or decoy.

Caloundra-based HeliMods will play a key role in manufacturing the aerospace technology with six other project partners and project lead Boeing Defence Australia.

HeliMods’ plans include constructing a large manufacturing complex to create ground support systems for Boeing’s MQ-28A Ghost Bat program.

It’s part of the Federal Government’s recently announced $103 million Advanced Defence Aerospace Manufacturing Network project.

Federal Member for Fisher Andrew Wallace said the deal was another show of confidence in the Sunshine Coast’s growing defence industry and manufacturing sector.

“I want Sunshine Coast manufacturers like Will Shrapnel and his team at HeliMods to reap the benefits of our historic $270 billion investment in boosting Australia’s defence industry and sovereign capability,” said Mr Wallace.

“What the pandemic showed us is we need to diversify our industry to attract the kinds of high-skilled jobs that a project such as this creates.

Andrew Wallace MP and Will Shrapnel, founder and managing director, at HeliMods.

“This is cutting-edge, world-leading technology, not just for the Sunshine Coast’s manufacturing sector and local economy, but also for our national defence capability.”

Local journalists supporting local people. Help keep independent and fair Sunshine Coast news coming by subscribing to our free daily news feed. All it requires is your name and email. See SUBSCRIBE at the top of this article

Founder and managing director of HeliMods Will Shrapnel said it was an honour to be part of the Boeing-led Aerospace and Defence Advanced Manufacturing Network.

“The support we will receive as a business through the Modern Manufacturing Initiative collaboration Stream will allow us and other network partners to scale up and provide world leading manufacturing technologies directly into major programs such as Boeing’s MQ-28,” Mr Shrapnel said.

“Growing up here on the Sunshine Coast, it was hard to imagine that a local business to have an opportunity to become a part of such an important initiative, and that our aerospace industry here on the Coast would be delivering at a level where we were recognised as significant on a global scale.

“I hope that this announcement can encourage others to pursue their passions from regional locations to make global impact.”

HeliMods is a world-leading provider of high value mission systems and equipment for aerospace and defence applications, with an advanced engineering and manufacturing base at the Caloundra Aerodrome.

The firm currently supports the Australian Defence Force and other essential government services across a growing number of key programs, including the Advanced Defence Aerospace Manufacturing Network.

The announcement comes on the back of a $47.4 million investment in another local Caloundra-based business, Eniquest, to manufacture diesel field generators for the ADF.

Eniquest has also been manufacturing generators for the ADF’s protected mobility vehicles, the Bushmaster made in Victoria by defence contractor Thales.

 

Subscribe to SCN’s free daily news email

Hidden
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
[scn_go_back_button] Return Home
Share