Australian aerospace companies Insitu Pacific and Innovaero are collaborating on a long-range strike capability using uncrewed aircraft systems.
The capability will combine Insitu’s Integrator drone for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) and Innovaero’s One-Way Loitering (OWL) munition for long-range missions.
The companies will conduct combined tests using Insitu’s common ground control station and INEXA software.
Development of the combined Integrator/OWL system will run through 2023.
The initiative comes after the companies expressed interest in developing Australia’s drone technology in a 2021 memorandum.
Innovating Australia’s Air Defense
Insitu Pacific Managing Director Andrew Duggan said that the collaboration was born out of a need for safer air defense development in the country.
“This unified approach would combine uncrewed [ISR] and long-range strike capabilities to rapidly deliver direct effects in the engagement zone without the need for crews in larger air assets being put at risk,” he said.
The joint press release described the project as a “rapid-scale” concept, allowing for operational flexibility using Australia’s existing capabilities.
“The concept is designed to achieve seamless integration with current Australian Defence Force systems, including the Integrator and offers great potential to become an integral strike asset,” Duggan added.
The 2021 memorandum explained that other Asia-Pacific defense forces may also employ the integrated drone platform once a unified long-range strike concept is developed.
The target completion date for the combined system’s completion is yet to be revealed.