As the Indo-Pacific theatre heats up, Aussie tech stocks could get busier
Hegseth sounds the alarm on China, urges Indo-Pacific to arm up
Vection and DroneShield score fresh defence deals
Harvest Tech keeps videos connected as it wins contracts
If Pete Hegseth's message to Asia was meant to be subtle, someone forgot to give him the memo.
Standing before a room of generals, ministers and defence strategists at Singapore's Shangri-La Dialogue last Friday, the US Defence Secretary didn't mince words.
China, he warned, was 'credibly preparing' to invade Taiwan, and the region had to 'step up' before the future became a war zone.
'We do not seek to dominate or strangle China,' Hegseth said, 'but we will not be pushed out.'
The Chinese delegation responded by calling the US the 'biggest troublemaker' in the region, and the tension there was unmistakable.
Hegseth's call for a 'strong shield of deterrence' wasn't just aimed at generals, it was a note to the budget offices of Indo-Pacific governments.
Australia, tucked firmly into the US's circle of friends, was also being nudged to firm up its position.
Hegseth floated 5% of GDP as a starting point for defence budgets, and that kind of big money obviously needs somewhere to land.
Vection scores as war games go digital
For Australian companies that can offer technology to prepare for modern threats – whether that's better comms, AI, or secure simulation platforms – the next few years could be fertile ground.
In the end, war may be uncertain, but preparation isn't.
And tech that helps nations prepare smarter might just find itself centre stage, whether the battle ever comes or not.
But defence contracts are hard-fought, highly regulated, and often slow to deliver.
So when a company announces a fresh deal in defence, no matter the size, investors tend to sit up and take notice.
Which is exactly what happened when Vection Technologies (ASX:VR1) announced a fresh $1 million defence contract on Monday.
This Perth-born outfit is known for its work in XR, short for 'extended reality.' In plain English, that means it builds virtual environments that blend the digital world with the real one.
This technology can be used in VR (virtual reality) training sessions for soldiers, 3D models of a battlefield, or even remote mission planning in a virtual room that looks just like the real thing. What used to be sci-fi is now very much on the defence department's radar.
The latest deal was Vection's fourth contract with the same defence client (un-named), a clear sign there's trust building.
More importantly, the client's hinted there's more work coming, so this might just be chapter one.
Vection's INTEGRATED-XR platform is essentially a digital Swiss Army knife that combines AI, 3D visualisation, Internet of Things (IoT) and voice-command systems into one package.
It's designed to help defence teams train smarter, plan faster, and make better decisions under pressure.
You can simulate a rescue mission in VR, see live battlefield data mapped in 3D, or rehearse crisis responses before boots even hit the ground.
Vection's pitch is simple: when lives are on the line, mistakes are expensive, and the best way to avoid them is to train like it's the real thing.
Droneshield, Harvest Tech also strike wins
But it's not just Vection making moves.
DroneShield (ASX:DRO) had struck a big win earlier, landing a $32 million deal in April to supply counter-drone gear to a major Asia-Pacific military.
The deal bundled five separate orders into one, all due for delivery this year; a strong sign that Aussie-made defence tech is moving past trials and into the rollout phase.
Meanwhile, when the mission moves from planning to execution, especially in remote or high-risk locations, that's where another Aussie-listed company, Harvest Technology Group (ASX:HTG), comes in.
Harvest's flagship product is called Nodestream, which is all about secure communication – streaming video, audio, and data from almost anywhere, even on tight bandwidth.
Nodestream lets a team in the field, say, on a patrol boat or remote base, stream high-quality live video back to headquarters without needing a fat internet pipe.
It compresses the data in real time, keeps it encrypted and secure, and still manages to deliver crisp, mission-critical info fast.
Whether it's a drone feed, a helmet cam, or a sensor-packed vehicle, commanders will stay in the loop.
In 2023, Harvest landed its first defence contract with a Five Eyes customer for its Nodestream technology.
Fast forward to 2024, and HTG announced a follow-up, not just one, but two more orders from the same customer.
The company also had other wins, including orders from the European Union Defence Force and new UK-based offshore contractors, plus a successful drone trial with Japan's Self-Defence Force.
All these contracts show that Australian tech does have a seat at the defence table, especially now, as the Indo-Pacific gears up for what might be a more contested and complex future.
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