The smallness of the Australian military forces has always been an inhibiting factor on the manufacture of indigenously conceived weapons and equipment; for small production runs the costs per unit are naturally high, and at most times there has been a national reluctance to enter the export market. This factor together with the desire for standardization can to some extent be overcome by multi-lateral development with the larger friendly nations, and this has, in fact, been found to be so with several of the projects. In the period since the Vietnam war, projection of future requirements in defence technology has become difficult because of the difficulty of defining and agreeing on the nature of some future threat. The one item on which consensus exists is the belief that supply lines, either by air or sea, will have to be defended. This has led to a considerable strength in defence technology of aircraft detection and anti-submarine weapons and detection equipment.

A modern contribution of science to defence has been the application of analytical techniques to the evaluation of candidate weapons systems in the selection process. The capability was developed in the major weapons trials, and although it does not often produce new weapons systems, is a significant component of the total defence structure.

In the 1980s, the Defence Science and Technology Organisation continues as the second largest monolithic research organisation in Australia. Its primary raison d'etre is, of course, to enhance our defence capability. Nevertheless it has from time to time been expected to support civilian development. This it has done continually in the material sciences and in the generation of new opportunities. Some less direct 'spin-offs' are described in the last section.

Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering