01
PROJECT BACKGROUND
PROJECT BACKGROUND & CONTEXT
Mission October Sky is an AUKUS Pillar 2 Operational Readiness Accelerator for Advanced Capabilities, led by Chaos1 in collaboration with AUKUS Allied Government partners. This year marks the next evolution of the program, with a sharp focus on informing critical One Way Attack Uncrewed Aerial System (OWAUAS) capability options and counter-measure development.
PHASE 01
RAPID PROTOTYPING
Replicate core threat characteristics; establish baseline
0 – 3 MONTHS
PHASE 02
RAPID ASSESSMENT
Operationally-relevant test & evaluation; inform requirements
3 – 6 MONTHS
PHASE 03
RAPID EXPERIMENTATION
User-led experimentation; validate mission effectiveness
6 – 9 MONTHS
PHASE 04
RAPID FIELDING
Certification, scale production, rapid deployment
9 – 12 MONTHS
STRATEGIC CONTEXT
Current threats continue to demonstrate that low-cost, high-volume OWAUAS — spanning Group 1 weaponised multi-rotors to Group 3 long-range strike systems — represent an asymmetry that undermines Allied combat advantage. Combat operations in Europe and the Middle East are providing stark early-warning that demands sovereign capacity and capability to rapidly field new and novel solutions.
02
SCOPE
WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR
Chaos1, as a neutral integrator, is seeking to identify Australian (and AUKUS-aligned) industry partners who can supply, manufacture, prototype or co-develop systems, sub-systems, components, and enabling capabilities across low-cost, threat-representative OWAUAS Groups 1 to 3.
OWAUAS GROUP DEFINITIONS
| Designation | Group | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Small OWAUAS | G1 | < 9 kg |
| Medium OWAUAS | G2 | 9 – 25 kg |
| Large OWAUAS | G3 | 25 – 600 kg |
Designations of OWAUAS remain developing doctrine, and are not constrained by multi-rotor, fixed-wing or vertical take-off and land baseline platforms.
CAPABILITY AREAS OF INTEREST
- Propulsion & Motors — Electric motors, combustion engines, fuel systems, ESCs
- Airframe & Structures — Fixed wing, multi-rotor, hybrid, composite / additive manufactured frames
- Avionics & Flight Control — Flight controllers, IMUs, autopilot systems, GCS integration
- Communications & Datalinks — RF datalinks, encrypted comms, SATCOM, jamming resilience
- Navigation & Positioning — GPS/GNSS, INS, denied-environment navigation, EO/IR
- Payload Systems — EO/IR cameras, EW payloads, warhead integration (ITAR-controlled items subject to clearance)
- Power Systems — Battery technology, energy density, fuel cells, hybrid power
- Launch & Recovery — Rail launchers, catapult systems, nets, vertical recovery
- Manufacturing & Production — CNC machining, additive manufacturing, composite layup, assembly and integration
- Test, Evaluation & Certification — Environmental testing, EMC/EMI, flight test services, airworthiness support
- Logistics & Sustainment — Supply chain, spares, field-level maintenance, training