The manufacturing of deadly toys for military purposes is often a driver of innovation, with spill-over effects across other parts of the economy. A new project for the production of energetic materials such as explosives, propellants and pyrotechnics may be an example of this.
Minister for Defence Industry Christopher Pyne recently announced a partnership between the Government's Defence Science and Technology Group (DST), industry and academia that will develop new 3-D printing technology for producing safer and better performing explosives for Defence and industry.
According to Mr Pyne, the research could not only lead to the production of tailored weapons systems for Defence but also have far-reaching civilian applications. It will also contribute to the development of critical expertise in energetic manufacturing techniques in Australian industry, he said.
Through its Corperative Research Centres program the Australian Goverment has committed over $2.6 million to the project.
DST partners include Victorian based defence research company DefendTex Pty Ltd, the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Flinders University, and Cranfield University in the UK.