Australia’s Minister for Defence Personnel, Materiel and Science Greg Combet Oct. 20 announced that 54 companies, academic institutions and government agencies have been selected to join the Rapid Prototyping Development and Evaluation Program (RPDE).
“RPDE, or ‘Rapid’, is a collaborative venture that was established to help Defence resolve difficult and challenging problems,” Combet said.
“After four and a half years of operation, Rapid continues to break new ground in the area of Government to private sector cooperation and collaboration. The program is focused on developing solutions to issues that hold back the ADF’s capability to effectively and safely undertake operations.
Combet said RPDE now has a pool of 189 companies, universities and government agencies which can source the intellects to address Defence problems.
RPDE is unique in its structure and operations and the latest intake will add to the already impressive list of Australia’s leading organisations who undertake research and development in this country.
“All organizations who join the program must meet two key criteria. Number one is that they are Australian companies, and secondly that they undertake ongoing research and development as part of their core operations,” Combet said.