The transition from policy to procurement is well underway. What the 2024 Integrated Investment Program signalled, 2026 is now delivering. For businesses operating in or adjacent to the defence sector, understanding where these programs sit in their lifecycle is critical to knowing when and how to engage.
This article unpacks the key programs moving into execution, the frameworks guiding industry participation, and what proactive alignment looks like in practice.
The 2024 Integrated Investment Program: What Changed
The 2024 IIP did more than reaffirm existing commitments. It reprioritised them, clarifying where government spending will be concentrated over the coming decade and which capability gaps demand the most urgent industrial response.
Several flagship programs are now entering delivery phases with real implications for industry:
- Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance (GWEO) Enterprise. Australia’s strike and deterrence posture depends on a domestic industrial base that can manufacture, sustain, and scale munitions production. The GWEO enterprise represents one of the largest industrial mobilisation efforts in a generation, with participation opportunities spanning precision manufacturing, energetics, supply chain management, and through-life sustainment.
- Expanded Naval Shipbuilding and Sustainment Programs. The continuous naval shipbuilding program is expanding, and with it, the demand for skilled tradespeople, advanced manufacturing capability, and integrated sustainment services. This is not a single contract opportunity. It is a multi-decade industrial commitment requiring workforce depth and supply chain maturity.
- Future Army Long-Range Fires Initiatives. The land domain is shifting toward longer-range precision effects, creating demand across targeting systems, munitions logistics, and integration with joint fires networks. For companies with relevant technologies or adjacent capabilities, this program opens a clear entry point.
These programs are not on the horizon. They are active, funded, and moving. The industrial base they require needs to be ready now, not when the tender drops.
The Defence Industry Development Strategy: Reading the Demand Signals
The Defence Industry Development Strategy (DIDS) provides the structural framework that sits alongside these capability programs. Where the IIP tells industry what Defence is buying, the DIDS outlines how industry should prepare to deliver it.
For companies looking to enter or grow within the sector, DIDS offers a practical lens for aligning three areas:
- Investment decisions. Directing capital toward capabilities and technologies that match confirmed priorities, rather than speculating on where demand might emerge.
- Skills development. Building workforce competencies at the scale and specification that delivery programs will require, particularly in areas like systems engineering, cybersecurity, and advanced manufacturing.
- Capability growth. Expanding organisational capacity in a deliberate, structured way that matches the defence enterprise’s long-term trajectory.
There are also now more pathways for businesses to connect with Defence, share information, and signal their readiness. The barriers to entry are lower than they have been in years. The expectation of preparedness, however, is higher.
Why Early Alignment Is No Longer Optional
Waiting for a formal approach to market before engaging is an increasingly costly strategy. By the time a tender is released, the competitive landscape is largely set. The companies that win are typically those that understood the requirement early, invested in the right capabilities ahead of time, and built relationships with the right stakeholders well before evaluation criteria were finalised.
For defence-focused businesses, this means acting across three dimensions now:
- Align early. Map your capabilities against the priority programs and identify where you can contribute before formal procurement activity begins.
- Invest deliberately. Commit resources to capability development, workforce readiness, and technology maturation in areas of confirmed demand, not speculative opportunity.
- Shape your pipeline. Structure business development activity around Defence’s stated priorities rather than pursuing a broad, reactive approach that dilutes focus and investment.
The Bigger Picture
The opportunity here extends beyond individual contract wins. Companies that align with Australia’s evolving defence priorities are positioning themselves for sustained, long-term growth as core contributors to the sovereign defence industrial base.
Australia’s defence posture is accelerating. The investment signals are clear, the programs are moving, and the demand for capable, aligned industry partners will only intensify through 2026 and beyond.
The businesses that recognise this and act accordingly will be the ones that stay ahead.
Ready to take the next step? Explore our Pre-Contract Services to see how we help clients build winning positions before tenders are released. Or get in touch with our team to discuss how we can support your next defence opportunity.
