Australia’s Department of Defence has contracted UK firm OpenWorks Engineering to supply its Vision Guard sensor system for evaluation under the Australian Defence Force’s Land 156 counter-uncrewed aircraft programme.
The backpack-carriable optics package is built as an early-warning trip wire for dismounted troops, using AI and data fusion to detect, track and identify Class 1 drones at long range. OpenWorks says the system can combine active and passive sensors, including radar and acoustic panels, and deploys in under two minutes. The contract gives OpenWorks a place in a fast-tracked AUD 1.3 billion C-UAS effort aimed at layered, distributed coverage.
The next marker is whether Land 156 turns this evaluation into a wider fielded buy.