4 November 2025
Victoria’s Defence Science Institute (DSI) and New South Wales’s Defence Innovation Network (DIN) are collaboratively promoting pioneering research and the establishment of Defence-focused multidisciplinary teams through funding provided by the ADSUN Innovation Grant: Working Under Water.
The grant is supported by the Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG) and draws together Defence subject matter experts, industry, and academia to explore the context and requirements for operating in the challenging underwater domain. This domain presents some of the most complex threats and operational challenges faced by Defence personnel. Advanced sensor technology and robust communication and navigation are cornerstones of a capability that protects our frontline operators from harm whilst also being highly relevant to civilian underwater activities. Creating valuable dual use outcomes.
In a joint effort, DSI and DIN invited the submission of multi-disciplinary proposals from across the Australian Defence Science and Universities Network (ADSUN). Nearly $1.2 million has been granted to the DIN and DSI cohorts to support three cutting-edge projects. The successful teams from academia and industry span a range of disciplines across the physical, data, and engineering sciences and will deliver a range of outputs from models to prototypes.
The three projects that are going to be granted funding under the ADSUN Innovation Grant: Working Under Water are:
- Advanced underwater sensing and navigation for long-range autonomy in GNSS-denied environments
Team: University of Sydney (USYD), University of Melbourne (UoM), University of Tasmania (UTAS), RMIT, Swinburne University of Technology (SUT), Phasor Quantum, and Quantum Brilliance.
- Secure, Long-Range Underwater Acoustic Communications Using Delay-Doppler Waveforms and Adaptive Beamforming
Team: Macquarie University (MQU), University of Melbourne (UoM).
- Prototyping Mission-Ready Functional Acoustic Surface Tiles for Next Generation Underwater Platforms
Team: University of New South Wales (UNSW), RMIT.
The ADSUN Innovation Grant: Working Under Water will curate the Defence IS&T ecosystem to prepare it for future activities supporting Defence’s priorities. These grants will realise the Defence IS&T Strategy Mission aims to drive the evolution of innovation pathways, from fundamental research and development through to prototyping and transition into capability.
