Why it matters
This pitch day is a direct pipeline into Australian Defence procurement: ASCA funds travel and accommodation for selected presenters, and winning solutions gain visibility with senior ADF decision-makers actively seeking to transition asymmetric capabilities. For SMEs and startups, it is one of the few structured, government-run mechanisms to formally pitch C2 and resilience technologies to Defence under the Defence Industry Development Strategy. The RFI-to-pitch format means shortlisted companies receive formal evaluation feedback and exposure to the broader ADSTAR ecosystem of 2,000+ researchers and decision-makers.
About
ASCA Pitch Day 2026 – Resilient Command and Control (RC2) is a government-run pitch competition held as part of the ADSTAR Summit 2026 at the Adelaide Convention Centre on 5 August 2026. Fourteen industry and academic organisations, selected via a formal Request for Information process, presented solutions addressing three challenge statements: operating in DDIL environments, protecting resilient C2 capabilities, and recovering degraded C2 networks. Prizes were awarded at the ADSTAR Gala Dinner by a panel of senior Defence officials, with Q-CTRL's quantum-enabled magnetic navigation solution taking the Innovation Award. Both in-person and virtual attendance options were available, with in-person access requiring an ADSTAR Summit ticket.
Market intel
Moderate pricinghigh confidence
ASCA Pitch Day 2026 – RC2 was an invite-only, government-curated pitch session embedded within the ADSTAR Summit 2026, featuring 14 shortlisted organisations from across Australia. The event focused squarely on resilient C2 in contested/DDIL environments, with quantum navigation, photonic inertial systems, and secure edge networking among the standout technologies. Prize winners were selected by senior Defence officials, giving the event direct procurement-signalling weight.
Notable exhibitorsQ-CTRL (Innovation Award winner – MagSLAM quantum magnetic navigation)Lockheed Martin Australia / Advanced Systems and Technologies (Project Albatross)Boeing Defence Australia (Next generation networking)Australian National University (Provably Secure Tactical Edge C2 Platform)Forge Photonics (Cost-asymmetric Photonic Inertial Navigation)Cueven (Trusted Sensor Assurance Layer – Best Presenter Award)Space CoLAB (HaloCore Quantum-Secure Laser Communications)Stratoship (HARCC – High Altitude Resilient C2)
AI-researched Tue, 25 August 2026. Estimates from public sources. Verify with the organizer.
Topics
C2 / Battle ManagementCyberAIISR & SensorsAutonomy & Robotics
Who it's for
SMEsStartupsInstitutions