South Australian companies partner on anti-drone systems for Ukraine

Two South Australian companies have teamed up to develop, manufacture and test technology that could soon be used by Ukrainian defence forces to shoot down drones. South Australian defence companies Praetorian Aeronautics and Zero Dawn have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to support development of a critical defence capability that will enhance air and missile defence systems in Australia and allied nations. The signing follows a test exercise last week, where the companies successfully conducted ground-based blast testing of the Zero Dawn munition integrated within Australia, Vasyl Myroshnychenko, with Praetorian and Zero Dawn intending to export the capability, in 2027, for Ukraine’s urgent operational demand. Fully designed and manufactured in South Australia, the technology will advance the (GWEO) Enterprise, supporting sovereign manufacture and enhancing air and missile defence capabilities. Established in 2024, Praetorian employs 50 people and has attracted $15 million in capital to build its technology capability, with potential to create up to 60 new jobs as it expands its manufacturing operations in Adelaide. Headquartered at Lot Fourteen, Zero Dawn is a 100 per cent Australian and veteran-owned defence company developing sovereign capability in munition design, manufacturing and energetics. The company expects to expand its research, development and manufacturing activities, creating at least 15 new technical positions in regional South Australia from 2027. Under the MoU, the companies will work together to progress detailed integration, testing, certification, production and market development opportunities, GWEO is a national priority for the Australian Government Department of Defence, with South Australia possessing long-standing credibility and capability in delivering sovereign testing infrastructure and advancing manufacturing capacity in the domain. Brett Hill, Founder and CEO Praetorian Aeronautics, said “counter-autonomy is becoming one of the defining defence and industrial challenges globally, and we believe Australia should be building sovereign technology in this field, not simply importing it. Our partnership with Zero Dawn is another step in turning that technology base into a complete Australian industrial capability. Adelaide will remain our global headquarters, core engineering centre and design authority as we expand internationally, with the potential to create up to 60 additional manufacturing jobs here in South Australia.” John Giffard, CEO Zero Dawn, said: “This collaboration brings together complementary Australian technologies to create a more complete sovereign counter-autonomy capability. Zero Dawn has developed modular warhead and fusing technologies designed to support modern autonomous systems, and working with Praetorian provides a clear pathway to integrate those technologies into a broader system architecture and show a clear, concise pathway to market. The objective is not simply a technical demonstration. We intend to work together through integration, qualification, certification and production readiness so that Australian and approved international customers can access a credible Australian-developed capability.” For Editorial Inquiries Contact: Editor Kym Bergmann at [email protected] For Advertising Inquiries Contact: Group Sales Director Simon Hadfield at [email protected]