Passive radar company Silentium Defence has delivered the first tranche of sensor systems for Australia’s Joint Air Battle Management System, AIR6500.
Sent to Lockheed Martin Australia, the Silentium Defence MAVERICK passive radar systems provide a new 3D capability that facilitate instantaneous, wide-field-of-view surveillance. It also supports tracking of targets with even higher fidelity and greater accuracy for cross-cuing of complimentary sensors and effectors. Silentium Defence is the only company in the world delivering passive radar solutions for sea, air, land, and space surveillance.
“The rate and complexity with which threats are evolving in today’s battlespace is unlike anything we’ve seen before,” said Silentium Defence CEO Dr James Palmer. “Asymmetric advantage requires access to innovative technologies delivered at pace, and accurate, real-time data for more informed decision making. With handover of our ‘MAVERICK Fortress-3D’ passive radar systems, Silentium Defence has delivered both technology faster and an edge for Defence, and we’re immensely proud of that achievement.”
The MAVERICK Fortress-3D passive radar is a new dimension in passive sensing, bringing 3D covert surveillance to the battlefield. Deployed as a compact, cabin-based solution, the system can be operated either independently as a stand-alone-asset or networked into a common operating picture.
Designed and developed in Australia, MAVERICK Fortress-3D has a low electromagnetic signature, making it difficult to geolocate and eliminate, and is the ideal expeditionary surveillance system for land, sea, and air targets.
“I commend Silentium Defence on its early delivery of the first sensors under the AIR6500 Tranche 2A contract,” said ANZ Lockheed Martin CEO Warren McDonald. “This is an important milestone that shows Australian industry can and has stepped up to deliver accelerated sovereign capability to meet Defence’s mission. In partnership with Defence, Lockheed Martin Australia is drawing on the nation’s best homegrown technologies to build an advanced, resilient and affordable air battle management system that bolsters Australia’s national security.”
Silentium Defence now employs more than 60 people across three facilities, exports to allied nations, and an expanded presence in the United States. It secured its first US contract in October 2023 and, in May 2024 announced the posting of co-founder Simon Palumbo to Virginia as Executive Vice President of Silentium Defense Corporation, a direct response to increased demand for its MAVERICK passive radar systems across the defence and government markets.
