Australia to procure radios for surveillance UAV

The Australian DoD is acquiring Codan Communications Sentry Mesh 6161 radios for Sypaq Systems' CorvoX UAVs (pictured), which are being procured to enhance surveillance capabilities of the Australian Defence Force. (Commonwealth of Australia)

The Australian Department of Defence (DoD) is acquiring radio systems from Adelaide-based Codan Communications for a type of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) being procured for the Australian Defence Force (ADF).

Codan Communications will deliver its Sentry Mesh 6161 radios for integration into Sypaq Systems' CorvoX UAVs under a contract worth AUD15 million (USD9.4 million), the DoD announced on 22 January.

The DoD announced plans to procure the CorvoX UAVs in July 2024 as part of an investment of over AUD100 million to expand the ADF's UAV arsenal. The procurements are part of project Def 129, which aims to secure different kinds of UAVs for the ADF to strengthen surveillance.

Codan Communications' production facility in South Australia will employ 18 highly skilled workers to deliver “precision engineering to support production, including video encoding, mesh and algorithms equipment packaging, and certification” of the Sentry Mesh 6161 radios, the DoD said.

The DoD added that Sentry Mesh 6161 will provide the ADF with “scalable solutions and enhanced communications capabilities”.

According to Codan Communications, Sentry Mesh 6161 is a software-defined radio hosting mobile ad hoc network (MANET) waveforms. The radio uses the company's MeshUltra mesh waveform that optimises the use of available channel bandwidth through a ‘Token Passing' technology, which avoids collisions and provides a bound, predictable data packet latency.

Sentry Mesh 6161 has a weight of 410 g and an output of 2 W, and features a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radio frequency (RF) architecture. The system also has an in-built GPS receiver, with a built-in antenna, to provide position location information (PLI).