A collaborative effort between a small Australian navigation firm and European defense giant MBDA is among the first to trial the new tripartite arms export control system from the onset of a program, with initial reports indicating positive outcomes, according to Advanced Navigation’s CEO, Chris Shaw.
Shaw shared in an interview with Breaking Defense that prior to the recent updates to the US International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and the arms export regulations in the UK and Australia, it could take up to six months to secure a license just to share information. However, following the revamp of rules in August, this timeline has been significantly reduced to days or weeks.
„While there are still controls that need to be adhered to, it’s much simpler for initiatives like this now,” Shaw remarked. The memorandum of understanding between Advanced Navigation and MBDA currently restricts collaboration to the UK and Australia and has not yet tested US regulations.
Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles has praised the arms export reforms as a “generational” shift, with officials keen to align with American requirements while updating Australia’s arms export framework. The ITAR system is known for its complex and often slow processes controlled by the US State Department’s Political-Military Bureau.
Pillar II of the trilateral AUKUS partnership—whose first pillar focuses on assisting Australia in acquiring and constructing nuclear-powered submarines—deals with the rapid advancement, testing, and deployment of new technologies in areas like autonomy, hypersonics, cyber, artificial intelligence, electronic warfare, and underwater systems.
Shaw explained that his company and MBDA have been in discussions with contact points from Pillar II in each government since initiating this collaboration, as mentioned in the related press release.
Announced on November 20, the collaboration aims to develop and test a system for a medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) drone utilizing a newly engineered sensor set designed for jam-proof navigation and enhanced autonomy. MBDA’s NILEQ sensors work similarly to fingerprint scanners, analyzing the terrain they fly over while referencing a detailed Earth surface database. These sensors detect discrepancies between the database and their observations, enabling rapid change detection for potential targeting applications.
“MBDA is excited about the various applications of this technology, which is why they’ve partnered with us to integrate our navigation technology and create a comprehensive solution for drone use,” Shaw noted. “Typically, they focus on final products, not on the integration stage.”
MBDA’s Australian general manager, Tom Tizard, stated in the press release that the new technology addresses a significant need for resilient absolute positioning information that will augment existing navigation systems for airborne platforms. The challenges posed by Russia have highlighted the vulnerabilities of GPS, revealing how advanced munitions that rely solely on GPS can be rendered ineffective when jamming occurs. Tizard commended Advanced Navigation as „an ideal Australian partner” for accelerating this technology towards market readiness, emphasizing that resilient navigation technologies are crucial for this partnership.
If successfully implemented, Advanced Navigation believes the system “will allow airborne systems to navigate unlimited distances over land without relying on GPS and will be passive and resistant to interference.”
The project is progressing rapidly, with the first test flight of the new systems anticipated before the end of the year, according to Shaw.
This MBDA agreement follows a landmark contract signed in early September with South Korea’s Hanwha, aimed at supplying an already-developed precision-guidance system on a global scale. Shaw noted that this deal could potentially lead to a 400 percent increase in business for the Australian firm.
