Defence Excellence

Victoria is Australia’s state of defence industry excellence. The Victorian Government provides ongoing support for a range of key initiatives to grow the state’s defence sector.

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Capabilities

Land

Victoria has extensive capabilities in the design, development, manufacturing and sustainment of a range of military vehicles.

Maritime

Victoria has extensive experience in naval shipbuilding, with more than 40 ships constructed in the State since the 1940s.

Aerospace

Victoria’s world-class aerospace design and manufacturing capabilities make a significant contribution to Australia’s military aerospace industry.

Cyber and Digital

With more than 350 digital and cyber security businesses, Victoria is a leading provider of digital defence capabilities to the Australian Defence Organisation.

Research and Development

Victoria brings together the world’s best and brightest minds in defence research and development (R&D). With so many facilities in one state, Victoria is the nation’s hub for innovation and specialist defence knowledge.

Weapons and Munitions

Victoria is home to key defence infrastructure with Guided Weapon and Explosive Ordnance (GWEO) applications, including munitions manufacture in Benalla (one of only two locations in Australia) and storage & distribution facilities in Mangalore, HMAS Cerberus & Point Wilson.

24,300

Defence industry jobs

$8.4bn

Contribution to GDP

6,300

Supply chain businesses

40%

National defence R&D undertaken by Victorian universities

$350mn

Export contribution

The driving factor for us is always to be as innovative as possible. AW Bell punches well above its weight on the international scale and I guess that's what makes me really, really proud that we compete against the biggest foundries in the world and also the biggest machine providers in the world, and we compete well. AW Bell group is a leading supplier of quality casting solutions. Globally, we provide cast parts, machine parts and assemblies as well as OEM equipment solutions provider to foundries worldwide. Export at the moment is extremely important to us, currently it's around 85% of our revenue and it's really been our targeted market over the last four years. Don't think exports are going to happen overnight, they take time to develop. Relationships take time to develop but for all that hard work, it's paid off and it's well worthwhile going through the pain to see the light at the end.

Smart Enough Factory

With support from the Victorian Government, Australian Precision Technologies (APT) has participated in the Smart Enough Factory digital capability uplift program delivered by DMTC Limited. DMTC is engaging undergraduate student interns (with support from the Defence Science Institute (Vic) and AI Group) to help companies on their digital transformation journey.