The Australian Department of Defence has awarded three new contracts under the Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator’s (ASCA) Emerging and Disruptive Technologies (EDT) program. The new contracts contribute an additional $9 million AUD ($5.8 million USD) to the program, which is a $60 million AUD ($39 million USD) investment over three years, with a focus on quantum technologies and information warfare. These awards are in addition to the 21 contracts announced at the end of last year.
The quantum-specific contracts were awarded to CSIRO and Silicon Quantum Computing. CSIRO will develop quantum machine learning algorithms to detect and mitigate adversarial and spoofing attacks. Silicon Quantum Computing will develop a sovereign-manufactured quantum-enhanced machine learning processor for Defence. Additionally, a consortium of universities, including Macquarie University, University of Melbourne, the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, and the University of Technology Sydney, will conduct research into detecting mis- and dis-information.
The ASCA EDT program aims to leverage Australian industry and academia to deliver new technologies that support national interests and align with the 2024 National Defence Strategy. Chief Defence Scientist, Professor Tanya Monro AC, stated that the program is designed to foster long-term industry partnerships and accelerate capability development in key areas of priority for Defence. Quantum technology and information warfare are two of the six key Innovation, Science and Technology (IS&T) priorities identified in the National Defence Strategy.
Read the full media release here.
August 26, 2025
