A swarm of UAVs (unmanned autonomous vehicles) flying as a single entity, collecting and transmitting information, reacting and correcting for air currents obstacles and returning base without incident is the stuff of science fiction.

The result has been a long time coming, but the new ADF Deployable Medical Facility rolled out on EX Talisman Saber 09 seems to have been worth the wait.

Cubic Defence Australia was able to bring together numerous training programs and standards from the US and Australia to make sure that troops from various sites could train together for Talisman Sabre 2009.

With more advanced combat identification solutions making current technology obsolete, the ADF will continue to field coalition compatible systems in the interim and rely more on improved situational awareness across the battlefield.

Like tiring warhorses, those projects underpinning the first Networked Battle Group seem in no hurry to finish their journey.

Project Land 121 Overlander has seen its fair share of ups and down, sometimes literally with the Ph 3 testing regime winding up in the coming months.

Described as part of "the broken backbone of Defence", the department's ICT infrastructure is about to undergo a major overhaul.

NSW high tech engineering and manufacturing company, Broens Industries has purchased South Australian company Calbic Pty Ltd.

The independent Defence Force Remuneration Tribunal has approved a new remuneration structure for ADF officer aircrew and air traffic control officers.

BAE Systems Australia has established a new, state-of-the-art aircraft maintenance centre at Townsville Airport.

The Aegis Weapon System destined for Australia's first Air Warfare Destroyer (AWD) has begun a four month test program at Lockheed Martin's Aegis Production Test Center in New Jersey.

The US Army announced that it is seeking vendors for mature, in-production remote weapon systems under its Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station program.

The F-35B short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) variant of the Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter has become the first F-35 to complete an aerial refueling using the US Navy's probe-and-drogue refueling system.

US sensor manufacturer FLIR Systems Inc has opened a service laboratory at Notting Hill in Melbourne.

The RAAF's second KC-30A Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) aircraft, based on the Airbus A330-200 airliner, has completed its mission equipment outfitting with a successful ‘power on' milestone.

A novel, high-resolution air cargo scanner developed by the CSIRO has won the 2009 Eureka Prize for ‘Outstanding Science in Support of Defence or National Security', which is sponsored by DSTO.