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AUSSIE GAME CHANGER Making passive radar a capability reality for the ADF and its Allies
Silentium Defence MAVERICK S-series passive radar system for surveillance of space. Photos supplied..
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Australian company, Silentium Defence, is kicking big goals and is at the forefront of success, harnessing passive radar technology to assist the Australian Defence Force and its allies. Translation of deep science and technology propositions to real-world capability is a game changer and no mean feat. This requires time, commitment, commercial knowledge and passion. The ability to attract talent and resources, sponsors, partners and customers willing to do things differently is a bonus. Having an amazing team of deep-tech specialists also helps. Silentium Defence is Head Quartered in Wingfield, South Australia with a second development and testing facility located at Parafield, on the fringe of the second busiest airport in the southern hemisphere. Since establishment in 2016, its mission and single-minded focus has been to ensure passive radar technology is readily accessible to the ADF. Building the team, facilities and networks required have played a crucial part in its success to date. Chief Executive Officer for Silentium Defence, Dr James Palmer, says “a large part of our success can be attributed to the relationships we have built, not just the internal relationships that are built on our company culture – a critical part of achieving success on these fronts, but also our customer relationships.
We are passionate about producing world-leading capability and products for our customers, and also creating a workplace where people look forward to coming to work and are challenged and stretched.” The Silentium Defence team consists of more than 20 full and parttime employees as well as contractors. The Wingfield site provides capacity for product design, engineering and testing as well as accommodating growing operations and project management teams. Three product lines at varying stages of maturation will deliver critical sovereign capability and advantage to the ADF across air, sea, land and space domains. The company’s agile approach, working as a strong team and learning from each development is delivering best value to its customers in the field of space domain awareness. Testing in the field ensures the company better understands the customers’ needs and its products meet unique operational requirements. This also ensures any issues or roadblocks for the team are identified and addressed early, and clear parameters are developed around what success looks like. Company values are clearly defined and geared toward supporting team, customers and the broader Defence industry while always striving to ‘do what others can’t, or don’t know can
