NEWS & MEDIA

The largest LAND FORCES International Land Defence Exposition ever held has come to a close after three solid days of record exhibitor numbers, major industry announcements and countless engagement opportunities.

With 810 participating exhibitor companies and record attendances over the three days, the exhibition floor was a hive of activity. Land Forces 2022 hosted 40 conferences which informed on subjects from uncrewed systems technologies to workforce development requirements, often with “standing room only” in the conference rooms.

Chief of Army, Lieutenant General Simon Stuart, AO, DSC, said the event provided a catalyst for the teamwork needed to provide Army with future capability.

“It’s been a really energising event,” Lieutenant General Stuart said. “I think we’ve got more participants this year than we’ve ever had before, and I think that speaks volumes to the degree of teamwork and partnership between industry, academia and our Army as we get around solving the problems that our soldiers face on a day-to-day basis.

“I just want to extend a really sincere thanks from the Australian Army to all of our partners here, from all around Australia, all levels of government, from local, State and Federal, to our industry partners, whether they be micro, small, medium or indeed large international primes and all our international friends. And indeed, our partners in DST and Australia’s first-class institutions.”

As Host Sponsor, the Queensland Government hosted its own state pavilion, with 32 companies on the official stand and many more around the halls.

"Over the past few days, Land Forces 2022 has provided the opportunity for Australian defence industry, including many leading Queensland companies, to showcase the latest technologies from across the sector,” said a member of the Queensland Government’s Defence Jobs Queensland team.

“It has also provided a great forum to discuss innovative and collaborative opportunities to build Australia's sovereign defence capability to ensure we are prepared for the growing challenges in the international security environment."

Justin Giddings, CEO of LAND FORCES 2022 organiser AMDA Foundation, said the event had achieved its goal of bringing the land defence community together in a safe, collaborative environment.

“LAND FORCES 2022 has seen great representation from all areas, including industry, Army, government and academic institutions,” he said. “The conferences were of consistently high quality, Army took every opportunity to interact with industry, and there was a constant background hum of thousands of conversations happening at once on the exhibition floor.”

“We were proud to be able to showcase Australian industry and particularly to highlight innovation through the LAND FORCES Innovation Awards and Pitchfest, which showed the ingenuity of our community and the high level of technical expertise that already exists in this country.

“Thank you also to the AMDA Foundation personnel, who have worked long and hard to deliver yet another highly professional, effective platform to promote engagement in the land defence community.”

“We look forward to seeing our exhibitors, sponsors, visitors and guests again at LAND FORCES 2024.”