Avalon News in Brief 25 March 2025

Anduril’s Fury autonomous fighter makes international debut: Anduril’s high-performance, multi-mission autonomous fighter jet “Fury” will make its first appearance outside of the USA at the Avalon Australian International Airshow 2025. Fury is designed to act as a force multiplier for crewed fighter aircraft, combining trusted collaborative autonomy, hyper-scale producibility, modularity, and affordability to expand the ability of U.S. and allied forces to project combat airpower. Overseas, a missionised variant of Fury called YFQ-44A was down selected by the United States Air Force (USAF) for Increment 1 of the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program last year. The CCA program is an effort to develop, produce, and field uncrewed fighter aircraft that will act as force multipliers for current and next-generation crewed aircraft, increasing and expanding their survivability, effectiveness, and mission capabilities. In partnership with the USAF, Anduril’s YFQ-44A is pioneering a new generation of semi-autonomous fighter aircraft that will fundamentally transform air dominance by delivering highly capable, mass-producible, more affordable, more flexible, and more autonomous aircraft by the end of the decade. David Goodrich OAM, Executive Chairman and CEO Anduril Australia said: “Anduril Australia is honoured to display Fury at the Avalon International Airshow. It’s the first time it has been shown outside the USA. Autonomous air systems will be crucial for achieving air superiority in future conflicts. Our adversaries are making major investments in this area and we need to move faster to develop autonomous systems for the defence of Australia and our allies. They provide a comprehensive view of battlefield dynamics and keep our warfighters out of unnecessary danger.” DroneShield reaffirms support for ADF drone racing team: DroneShield, a global leader in counter-drone solutions, proudly reaffirms its support for the Australian Defence Force (ADF) Drone Racing Team at the upcoming Avalon Australian International Airshow 2025. This continued collaboration further strengthens the partnership between DroneShield and Australia’s foremost military drone operators, fostering innovation in both drone and counter-drone technologies. Building on the successful engagement with the ADF Drone Racing Association, DroneShield’s sponsorship at Avalon 2025 will go beyond traditional support, focusing on hands-on collaboration, including DroneShield drone pilot participation in the ADF Drone Racing Team’s activities at Avalon Airshow, further enhancing cross-domain expertise and fostering innovation in real-time drone engagements. “The ADF Drone Racing Team represents the pinnacle of high-performance drone operations, and we are excited to continue our support at Avalon 2025,” said Oleg Vornik, CEO and Managing Director of DroneShield. “This partnership is more than just sponsorship; it’s about shaping the future of drone warfare by merging expertise from both offensive and defensive drone technologies.” Wing Commander Keirin Joyce, President of the ADF Drone Racing Association, welcomed the continued collaboration. “The partnership between the ADF Drone Racing Team and DroneShield is invaluable in pushing the boundaries of what drones can do – both in competition and on the battlefield. By testing cutting-edge counter-drone technologies against some of the most skilled drone operators in Defence, we create a unique development loop that strengthens Australia’s overall defence capabilities.” Honeywell partners with RFD Australia for F-35 support: Honeywell announced it is partnering with RFD Australia Pty Ltd, part of Beaufort Group, to provide sustainment support for the Royal Australian Air Force and the wider Asia Pacific F-35 fleet. Upon activation of the new depot, Honeywell will license RFD Australia to provide maintenance, repair and overhaul activities (MRO) on its F-35 Back Up Oxygen System (BOS). Once repaired, the BOS products will ultimately go back into the F-35 Global Spares pool. The primary purpose of the BOS is to ensure pilots have a continuous supply of breathable oxygen while flying in high-altitude environments under extreme conditions. Having a reliable backup oxygen system enhances the overall mission continuity of the F-35 because pilots can execute their missions with a greater assurance they will not face oxygen deprivation. The RFD Australian depot facility in Australia will provide additional capacity to repair these BOS products. By comparison, today these repairs are only supported out of the Honeywell Yeovil facility in England. The activation of a new depot in the region will significantly improve F-35 sustainment activities in Asia-Pacific, improving reliability and effective maintenance of the BOS. Most importantly, it will increase efficiency in the repair pool and reduce turnaround times for maintenance and repair of the F-35 fleet in the Asia-Pacific region. Corvo X export ready in 2026: SYPAQ Systems announced that the close collaboration with Australian Government is now delivering the Corvo X Small Uncrewed Aerial System (SUAS) into the DEF129 program, providing a world-leading autonomous Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance capability to the Australian Defence Force (ADF). Following on from this success Corvo X will be available for export customers in 2026. Corvo X is a next generation military grade SUAS, featuring an innovative, thrust vectored Vertical Take Off and Landing configuration that delivers class leading endurance in extreme weather conditions. The lightweight, man packable system, coupled with advanced autonomy, payload, and encrypted mesh network capabilities, reduces the physical and cognitive load on the operator enhancing mission safety, flexibility and performance. SYPAQ’s Corvo X SUAS utilises sovereign Australian technologies such as CODAN|DTC’s recently announced Sentry 6161 mesh radio, providing secure and reliable communications technology within the truly autonomous system. “Collaborating with SYPAQ to deliver our Australian manufactured, combat proven, low latency communications technology is critical to our future export programs. DEF 129 is an exciting opportunity bringing this important sovereign communications capability into service” stated Matt Jones when asked how CODAN|DTC is partnering with SYPAQ on this exciting journey. Through delivery of the successful Precision Payload Delivery System (PPDS) “Cardboard Drone” SYPAQ has forged a trusted relationship with AUSTRADE and the Defence Export Control Office (DECO) which underpins confidence to enter the export market with Corvo X. Notably Bellinger Systems, a SYPAQ-owned company, has proven delivery of key Tactical Datalink technologies from Leonardo DRS (USA). DroneShield unveils upgrade of counter-drone capability: DroneShield unveiled at the Avalon Australian International Airshow 2025, a significant upgrade and expansion of its critically Australian counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS) solutions, to safeguard government, critical infrastructure, and military sites worldwide. With drone incursions posing increasing threats to national security and public safety, DroneShield’s expanded DroneSentry solutions deliver multi-sensor detection and tracking capabilities, providing military and civilian customers an advanced yet accessible way to counter aerial threats. Underpinned by DroneShield’s DroneSentry-C2, an intuitive Command-and-Control platform, DroneSentry solutions are harnessed by multiple AI-enabled sensing and tracking products including DroneShield’s world-leading SensorFusionAI. Integrating cutting edge technologies from global radar and optical sensor leaders such as RADA, FLIR, Echodyne and Bosch, to high-powered microwave effectors like Epirus Leonidas, the expanded integrated solutions provide tailored protection based on operational needs. With options for close-range, mid-range, and advanced-range detection and coverage, DroneShield’s DroneSentry solutions delivers true situational awareness to critical infrastructure, public safety, and military-grade operators for counter-drone protection. “As an Australian company, we are committed to strengthening our national defence posture whilst equipping our allies and partners with integrated, cutting-edge C-UAS technology,” said Oleg Vornik, DroneShield’s CEO. Leidos and RMIT announce 2025 aviation scholarship winners: Leidos Australia and RMIT University are proud to announce the recipients of the 2025 Leidos Aviation Scholarship at Avalon Airshow, marking the second year of the program’s commitment to supporting aspiring pilots in their aviation careers. This year Leidos has expanded the program to offer more than $150,000 across six scholarships for final-year students completing a degree in Aviation at RMIT Aviation Academy. This follows the success of the first year of the program, which saw five scholarship recipients graduate and commence employment with Leidos. Leidos Airborne Solutions Vice President James Woodhams expressed the company’s dedication to fostering the next generation of aviation professionals. “The aviation industry continues to face critical workforce shortages, and we are proud to be playing an active role in addressing these challenges,” Woodhams said. “We recognise that the cost of flight training can be a major barrier to entry for aspiring pilots. By providing financial support and exposure to specialist aviation careers, we are helping to shape a pipeline of highly skilled pilots who can support vital national operations.” The 2025 scholarship recipients have been invited to Avalon Airshow to celebrate their achievements and provide them with a unique learning opportunity, valuable industry exposure and the opportunity to meet with a broad range of aviators. Boeing MQ-28 Ghost Bat completes 100 flights: Boeing Australia and the Royal Australian Air Force have achieved a major milestone in the MQ-28 flight test program, completing the 100th flight. Boeing Defense, Space & Security interim President and CEO Steve Parker made the announcement at the Avalon International Air Show in Australia saying, “This milestone demonstrates the maturity of our program in a growing market and is a testament to Boeing’s groundbreaking lead in developing collaborative combat aircraft capabilities for current and future applications.” The flight test program will culminate in a series of demonstrations later this year which will include MQ-28 aircraft teaming with crewed assets, such as E-7 and F-35, to complete operationally relevant missions. The 100th flight block showcased the operational paint scheme which is on display at Avalon Airshow for the first time. 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