Questions are being asked over the Defence Department’s decision to reject an Australian bid to supply $15 million worth of safety boots, after the contract was given to a company to make the boots in Indonesia.

Meanwhile, the Army has warned there could be big gaps in Australia’s readiness for high-tech future conflict.

The contract in question was for the manufacture of about 100,000 pairs of non-combat boots, worth around $15 million over five years, and would have secured the future of one of the Australia’s leading safety boot manufacturers – Rossi Boots.

Rossi Boots has been in South Australia since 1910, supplied boots to soldiers in World War I and World War II and is currently one of the last remaining Australian boot makers where the entire boot — sole and upper — is manufactured in Australia.

But the Defence Department rejected Rossi’s bid for the contract, claiming there was a technical issue which meant they “were technically noncompliant at this point in time,” Rossi CEO Neville Hayward told reporters.

“They said they had considered that we would cover that off as we had said in the tender,” he said.

“So that didn’t impact on the awarding of the contract. At the end of the day they largely said it was a value-for-money situation.”

But the company says the military buyers have sold themselves short, as imported boots cannot be easily repaired or modified to enhance and maintain safety standards.

South Australian Independent Senator Nick Xenophon is pushing the Federal Government to change procurement rules, so that the amount of flow-on economic benefit is factored, rather than just the cost to the government.

“Incredibly, the DMO (Defence Materiel Organisation) under current Government rules is precluded from considering the massive multiplier effect to the local economy of having these boots made in Australia,” he said.

Meanwhile, a new Defence Department study says the Australian Army will plan for high-tech combat in Asia’s mega-cities.

The Australian Army’s Directorate of Future Land Warfare has published a report (PDF) that warns combat of the future will move on from its current domain in the barren landscapes of the Middle East.

The report says the United States will “continue to be the world’s strongest military power and the most influential strategic actor” in the Asia-Pacific region, but that the army expects China’s growth will “inevitably influence" Australia’s military strategy toward conflicts in east, south-east and south Asia.

The Army expects to enter a dangerous new era.

“Despite the promise of new detection technologies … in many circumstances, forces will be deployed in situations in which adversary weapon ranges are greater than our detection capabilities,” the study observes.

It says cyber warfare “can be as effective as precision-guided munitions”, but “even with US support, Australia is unlikely to be able to dominate the electronic domain in the future,” the study warns.

“Current cyber defence capabilities have not kept pace with technological change and the army must develop an ability to defend critical networks against cyber-attack, while also being prepared to operate in a degraded network environment.”
The report carries warnings of a high-tech fighting future.

It says Australia may soon face enemies with “scientifically enhanced cognitive capacity” which the Defence Force will need to combat by increasing its physical and mental fortitude.

“Physical and cognitive enhancements such as ‘exosuits’ or long-lasting stimulants need to be considered in the context of amplifying performance and also for their potentially unintended physical and mental health consequences,” the study observes.

Also, the robots are coming.

“Autonomous robots offer considerable initial scope for increased safety and effectiveness in route clearance, bomb disposal and reconnaissance missions. Eventually, robotic systems may be capable of a much broader range of functions that are currently the preserve of humans … Significant questions remain concerning the ethics and legality of arming autonomous platforms and empowering these systems to use lethal force.”