Oculus Rift designer’s defence business comes to Australia – Hardware – Software

Anduril, the defence drone and sensor organization launched by Oculus Rift designer Palmer Luckey, has opened an place of work in Australia.

The firm has appointed OAM-holder David Goodrich as executive chair and CEO of the Australian procedure. 

Goodrich is a major hitter: as perfectly as executive knowledge with Lend Lease and Macquarie Financial institution, his credits incorporate involvement with Western Sydney Airport, the redevelopment of Darling Harbour, and 35 weapons program acquisition and sustainment contracts for the Australian Section of Defence.

Whilst headquartered in Sydney, Anduril claimed it has engineering, science, technological innovation and producing ideas at an Australia-huge scale.

CEO Brian Schimpf cited Australia’s qualifications in defence systems, this sort of as the RAAF’s uncrewed Faithful Wingman created in partnership with Boeing, as a motive for Anduril to develop in this article.

“Add to all that a loaded mattress of Aussie STEM talent, and Australia is the perfect area for Anduril to develop,” Schimpf additional.

Goodrich stated “now is the right time for the the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and the Australian Governing administration to glance at their technological know-how growth with fresh eyes”.

The company’s announcement was manufactured just days just before the federal governing administration announced a important expansion of the Section of Defence, with a program to include around 18,500 staff to the ADF by 2040.

Defence minister Peter Dutton explained the growth “will necessarily mean we can establish warfighting abilities in the domains of place, and details and cyber.”

Though cyber warfare and facts warfare featured in the Inquiry into the Section of
Defence Once-a-year Report 2019-20 report unveiled in November 2021, neither the section nor the authorities have stated any personnel or finances targets for these kinds of operations.

Anduril’s basis know-how is Lattice OS, which the organization describes as bringing “autonomy to the toughest missions”. The functioning program is the foundation for autonomous drones designed for a selection of armed forces apps. 

After selling Oculus Rift to Facebook for $US2.4 billion (A$3.3 billion) in 2014, Luckey launched Anduril in 2017 to deal with the defence modernisation market place.