Our expertise and multidisciplinary research contributes to national, regional and global security to help make Australia and the world a safer place to live.
Our expertise and multidisciplinary research contributes to national, regional and global security to help make Australia and the world a safer place to live.
We have a long and strong history of collaboration with the defence and national security sector, including developing pioneering camouflage for the Australian environment. Our alumni invented the black box flight recorder and wifi and, today for example, we are developing Al to protect against cyber-attacks.
We partner on a range of research with the Australian Department of Defence, the United States Department of Defense and associated agencies, as well as various industry partners known to conduct some defence or national security related research.
The majority of the University’s research projects linked to the defence sector are government-funded. Our research with the Commonwealth Department of Defence encompasses a wide range of areas, including innovative technologies, healthcare, and communication services. These projects currently receive funding amounting to $18M over several years.
We also received $36M in research funding over multiple years from the United States Department of Defense, for a range of projects focusing on issues such as prostate and ovarian cancer and quantum computing.
The University also collaborates with other agencies on defence and national security related topics, as detailed in the table below.
Partner |
Scheme/Funding Body |
Hub/Centres and Projects - Research Objectives |
|---|---|---|
Thales Australia Limited
|
Australian Research Council |
ARC Research Hub in Intelligent Robotic Systems for Real-Time Asset Management. (2023-2028) This hub aims to transform the way assets and infrastructure are managed by developing new capabilities for intelligent robotic systems for inspection, monitoring, and maintenance. The hub expects to generate new knowledge in robotics and associated fields using interdisciplinary approaches and collaboration between academia and industry. The expected outcomes are robots with the ability to autonomously collect data for integration into a digital twin that provides a real-time representation of the true state of a physical asset. The benefits include both improved asset management and establishing Australia as a leading manufacturer of advanced robotic systems. |
N/A |
SmartSat CRC |
The University of Sydney is a Core Partner in the SmartSat CRC, which is a consortium of universities and other research organisations, partnered with industry that has been funded by the Australian Government to develop know-how and technologies in advanced telecommunications and IoT connectivity, intelligent satellite systems and Earth observation next generation data services. |
Department of Defence Science and Technology, Maritime Division
|
Australian Research Council
|
ARC Training Centre for CubeSats, UAVs, and Their Applications (2018 - 2024). Our economy, security, and society increasingly rely on access to space for vital data such as important space weather information and communications services. However, a skilled workforce is required to grow the sector and capitalise on global opportunities. CubeSats are a new class of small satellites which, with UAVs, are disrupting the international satellite market and are of great commercial value at very low costs. The Training Centre for CubeSats, UAVs, and Their Applications will (a) train the next generation of workers in cutting edge advanced manufacturing, entrepreneurship, and commercial space and UAV applications, (b) develop new instruments. technology and products to solve crucial problems, and (c) develop a world-class Australian industry in CubeSats, UAVs and related products. |
In pursuit of the University's values of openness and transparency, balanced with our legal and contractual obligations and the health and safety of our staff and students, we will look to update the information on this page to reflect our research activities in the area of defence and national security.