GOLD COAST, Australia—Australia should expand its sovereign space capabilities, according to visiting former U.S. Air Force veteran Charlie McGillis.
“Space is a contested domain. We are seeing things up there today that we’ve never witnessed before, and that’s just going to continue,” she told an audience of defence tech innovators and investors on Sept. 9.
“It is so important for Australia to build capability here—that means satellites, ground infrastructure, that means more launch sites, that means having the workforce and training system to do all that.”
McGillis spoke at the Reveille defence tech conference, which is backed by tech investor and former “Shark Tank” judge Steve Baxter’s Beaten Zone Venture Partners.
She warned of the growing capabilities being developed by Beijing and Moscow.
McGillis pointed to a Chinese satellite equipped with a robotic arm that was able to grab and relocate another satellite, warning the same capability could potentially be used against another country’s spacecraft.
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The importance of satellites cannot be overstated playing a key role in global navigation and communication.
“Whether you’re using an Uber to get here, GPS, communications; all of those things depend on satellites, and we just don’t realise it,” she said.
McGillis, a veteran and founder of national security space consultancy, 2 Polaris & Beyond, said Australia’s “continent’s worth of open sky” gives it a unique strategic advantage.
Private Investment Appetite Has Shifted
Reveille brought together delegates from Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, and other European nations, with a focus on how private capital can boost sovereign defence capabilities.
Space was one of several sectors discussed during the event, alongside autonomous systems, artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing and other dual-use technologies.
“There’s a hesitancy amongst the Australian investment community to back defence-centric businesses,” tech investor Baxter told The Epoch Times on the sidelines of the event.
Australian investor and entrepreneur Steve Baxter addresses the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Sydney, Australia, on August 10, 2019. AAP Image/Bianca De Marchi
Baxter said worldwide conflicts, however, have shifted this hesitancy, particularly with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the Chinese Communist Party’s threat to Taiwan. In the case of Ukraine, the current conflict which began in 2022, has accelerated military innovation to breakneck speeds with new drones going from concept to field-ready in just weeks.
“Everyone is taking it a lot more seriously,” Baxter said. “Australia, we’re behind the curve.”
Why Government Funding Isn’t Enough
Meanwhile, regarding space, Australia is developing its own capability to monitor activity in orbit.
The system, tested in South Australia, can detect and track satellites and other objects in space using technology based on CSIRO research. Defence is assessing whether it could eventually be incorporated into Australia’s military space surveillance network.
Brigadier Hamish Ashman, director-general of space capability, said the trial showed how Australian industry could contribute to national security.
“By leveraging domestic innovation and expertise, Defence is contributing to the development of sovereign space capabilities that underpin national security,” Ashman said.
But Baxter argued government investment alone would not be enough to develop emerging defence technologies.
He said private investors bring “private incentivised eyes” to the process and are better placed to take on the risks involved in backing early-stage companies.
“Private capital brings the first stage of investment,” he said.
“It’s the riskiest capital. Taxpayers’ money should not be near the early stages of investment.
“But it is private investors like me who are willing to roll the dice and give it a go.”
