Sovereign Capability Focus
As global instability and supply-chain disruption continue to sharpen strategic risk, ZenithGroup-Defence is actively supporting strengthening of the Australian industrial base by connecting proven local manufacturers and suppliers to Defence-relevant programs across LAND, AEROSPACE and MARITIME. With supply-chain support for LAND 121, MQ-28 Ghost Bat and BAE Nulka, ZenithGroup-Defence helps turn Australian capability into a more coordinated, responsive sovereign industrial outcome.
KEY DEFENCE PROGRAMS
Land 121 5B
Heavy Land Transport
LAND 121 Phase 5B provides the Australian Defence Force with a modern, deployable heavy land transport system. The system delivers rapid mobility, payload capacity and reliability to support operations across austere environments, enhancing operational flexibility and survivability.
MQ28 GHOST BAT
Autonomous Air Vehicle
The MQ-28 Ghost Bat is an autonomous collaborative aircraft designed to operate with manned platforms. It enhances the Defence Force’s combat capability by providing intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and strike options in contested environments.
NULKA
Active Decoy System
Nulka is an active decoy system that protects ships and high-value assets from incoming anti-ship missiles. It works by seducing the missile’s radar seeker, drawing it away from the target and increasing survivability in a contested environment.
Sovereign Capability Across LAND, AEROSPACE and MARITIME Programs
Australia’s strategic environment has changed. The focus on self-reliance, industrial resilience and sovereign capability is accelerating, and recent events in the Middle East have only reinforced how important trusted domestic supply chains are to national preparedness. The 2026 National Defence Strategy and Integrated Investment Program explicitly emphasise greater self-reliance and the resilience of Australia’s sovereign Defence industrial base.
ZenithGroup-Defence is actively supporting this shift.
We bring together a capable network of Australian manufacturers and suppliers from across the Defence and industrial supply chain to deliver a more integrated, responsive and lower-risk support model for Defence programs. Our role is to help customers access broader industrial capability through one coordinated supply response rather than relying on a fragmented, single-scope supply chain.
This is where ZenithGroup-Defence adds real value.
For Primes, Sub-Primes, Tier 1 and Tier 2 contractors, the challenge is not simply identifying one capable supplier. It is building the right combination of trusted Australian suppliers who can collectively support quality, schedule, DIFOT, risk reduction and industrial continuity across demanding work packages. ZenithGroup-Defence helps solve that challenge by aligning multiple capabilities into a more effective sovereign supply-chain solution.
This model has already been demonstrated across Defence-relevant domains.
LAND
In the LAND domain, ZenithGroup-Defence has supported supply-chain activity connected to LAND 121, a program that highlights the importance of dependable local manufacturing, coordinated delivery and industrial responsiveness in support of vehicle and mobility capability. This kind of experience matters because sovereign capability in land systems is not just about platforms. It is about the local industrial depth required to sustain them. That aligns directly with Defence’s Sovereign Defence Industrial Priority relating to the sustainment and enhancement of the combined arms land system.
AEROSPACE
In AEROSPACE, ZenithGroup-Defence is supporting the manufacturing supply chain since the first prototypes were built for the MQ-28 Ghost Bat program. That involvement reflects the kind of agile, trusted and technically capable Australian industry base required to support advanced autonomous systems and emerging aerospace capability. This is especially relevant as Defence continues to prioritise autonomous systems and greater investment in drones and counter-drone capability.
MARITIME
In the MARITIME domain, ZenithGroup-Defence has supported supply-chain for the BAE Systems Nulka program. Nulka remains one of Australia’s most successful Defence export programs and an enduring example of how sophisticated capability depends on long-term industrial participation, disciplined manufacturing and trusted sovereign support behind the scenes.
Across all three domains, ZenithGroup-Defence helps translate existing Australian industrial strengths into a more coordinated and accessible sovereign capability offering.
That means better alignment between Defence demand and local supply. It means stronger support for import replacement, reduced dependence on vulnerable external supply chains, and a more practical pathway for capable Australian SMEs to contribute to strategic programs.
ZenithGroup-Defence is not simply responding to a rising national conversation. We have been actively supporting since 2020 by helping build the trusted industrial connections, manufacturing pathways and supply-chain coordination that sovereign capability now demands.
ZenithGroup-Defence
Actively supporting Australian sovereign capability across LAND, AEROSPACE and MARITIME programs.
