ADF General discussion thread

[Stampede]

Australia eyes local production of the French Mistral air defense missile in Sydney.

One can only assume ADF has expressed interest in addressing it’s V-SHORAD capability gap, otherwise this is quite the ‘out there’ idea… More at the link…

Australia eyes local production of the French Mistral air defense missile in Sydney

NIOA and MBDA signed an MoU at Indo Pacific 2025 to explore Australian Mistral missile production, aligning with GWEO goals to boost sovereign air defense capac

www.armyrecognition.com

NIOA Group and MBDA signed a memorandum of understanding at Indo Pacific 2025 in Sydney on 5 November 2025 to examine assembly and potential warhead manufacture of the Mistral very short range air defense missile in Australia. The move fits Canberra’s push for sovereign weapons production under the GWEO enterprise and could make Australia the first producer of Mistral outside France if the government greenlights a ramp-up.

Have SHORAD been in demand in the current Russia / Ukraine conflict
What is the current SHORAD used in our Battalions

Cheers S

 

[Volkodav]

Australia eyes local production of the French Mistral air defense missile in Sydney.

One can only assume ADF has expressed interest in addressing it’s V-SHORAD capability gap, otherwise this is quite the ‘out there’ idea… More at the link…

Australia eyes local production of the French Mistral air defense missile in Sydney

NIOA and MBDA signed an MoU at Indo Pacific 2025 to explore Australian Mistral missile production, aligning with GWEO goals to boost sovereign air defense capac

www.armyrecognition.com

NIOA Group and MBDA signed a memorandum of understanding at Indo Pacific 2025 in Sydney on 5 November 2025 to examine assembly and potential warhead manufacture of the Mistral very short range air defense missile in Australia. The move fits Canberra’s push for sovereign weapons production under the GWEO enterprise and could make Australia the first producer of Mistral outside France if the government greenlights a ramp-up.

We live in strange times.

The government is being savaged for gaps in defence, with armchair experts screaming "we need this, we need that, we need the other", the opposition jumps up and down saying we should be spending more, the Murdoch media does what the Murdoch media does.

Out of the blue, a press release come from industry announcing an MOU for local manufacturing, or there's a US approval for export to Australia, then a few weeks later the government confirms, yes orders have been placed.

It's bloody obvious that discussions must have been underway for some time, but then, even though they are being criticised for doing nothing, there's not even a hint until it just happens.

 

[Stampede]

We live in strange times.

The government is being savaged for gaps in defence, with armchair experts screaming "we need this, we need that, we need the other", the opposition jumps up and down saying we should be spending more, the Murdoch media does what the Murdoch media does.

Out of the blue, a press release come from industry announcing an MOU for local manufacturing, or there's a US approval for export to Australia, then a few weeks later the government confirms, yes orders have been placed.

It's bloody obvious that discussions must have been underway for some time, but then, even though they are being criticised for doing nothing, there's not even a hint until it just happens.

Let’s see what evolves

I get the feeling a lot is happening behind the scenes.

Cheers S

 

[Aardvark144]

Well CAF announcing an across the board review into Flying Hours, sliding projects, reviewing sustainment and the Defence capping Reserve days is not helping sell the rhetoric that Government is expanding the ADF.

 

[Volkodav]

Well CAF announcing an across the board review into Flying Hours, sliding projects, reviewing sustainment and the Defence capping Reserve days is not helping sell the rhetoric that Government is expanding the ADF.

Defence has been over committed for years. Assumptions made on costs that have nothing to do with reality.

It is not comfortable at all but there does need to be reviews on expenses. We can't afford the new stuff we need, or to sustain the necessary stuff we already have, if we are spending money on less critic things, that while important, are not critical.

There is a project I'm on that was almost axed until we demonstrated its value for money, ironically by increasing scope. The cost benefit didn't stack up until we demonstrated what it would deliver to other projects once it was up and running.

Does it make sense acquiring a light MANPAD to replace the RBS70 roles NASAMs can't, probably not. Is it worth procuring a system that is more man portable than RBS70, can be vehicle mounted, and has been integrated in naval and air platforms?

Minimum viable capability is having some very interesting consequences.

One thing I have seen is while defence is shedding contractors, industry is bringing back quite a few grey beards, and the people bringing them in are the experienced technical managers who know they don't know it all, not the MBA wielding PMs who think they know it all.