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Symposium Program

Please see below the draft PARARI 2026 Symposium program.

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Wednesday 25th November, 2026

8:00am - 9:00am

Registration and Networking

9:00am - 9:30am

Keynote Address

Room: Royal Theatre
Chair: Tim Gavel

Proportional Safety - A Regulator's Perspective

Mr Stephen Gillstroem McLean, UK Ministry of Defence

9:30am - 9:40am

Movement Break into Sessions

9:40am - 10:10am

Session 4A – Storage and Distribution

Room: Royal Theatre
Chair:

How nations apply TNT equivalency in QD frameworks: Balancing simplicity and scientific accuracy

Dr Socrates Angelides, MSIAC, Brussels – Belgium

Session 4B – Manufacturing

Room: Bradman Theatre
Chair:

NIOA Benalla Industrialisation – Primary Explosives Manufacturing

  • Part 1 – Capability Establishment
  • Part 2 – Safety Approach and Validation

Dr Emma Coen

Mr Sam Brugliera

Session 4C – Safety and Suitability for Service

Room: Menzies Theatre
Chair:

Reframing minimum viable capability in explosive ordnance engineering

Mr Christopher Donaldson, Land Explosive Ordnance System Program Office, GWEO

10:10am - 10:40am

Optimisation of a frame integrated energy absorption mechanism for blast resistant windows using sensitivity analysis

Dr Jin Choi, US Department of War Explosives Safety Office

Mr Jose Rullan-Rodriguez, US Department of War Explosives Safety Office

cont...
A data driven approach to missile captive carriage lifing

Ms Mary Massiha, QinetiQ

10:40am - 11:10am

Morning Tea and Exhibition

11:20am - 11:50am

Session 5A – Test and Evaluation

Room: Royal Theatre
Chair:

How the RAAF and Boeing safely fired an AIM-120 from the MQ-28 Ghost Bat in less than 12 months

Mr Alistair Weir, Boeing Defence Australia

Session 5B – Manufacturing

Room: Bradman Theatre
Chair:

PBXN-109 Vendor Change Program – Surety of supply

Mr Jacob Dobbs, Thales Australia

Session 5C – Safety and Suitability for Service

Room: Menzies Theatre
Chair:

The default HERO susceptibility trace: Validity, limitations and practical application in modern EO safety

Mr David Cooling, K39C

11:50am - 12:20pm

Advanced rocket motor technology demonstrator program

Mr Andrew Hart, Defence Science and Technology Group

Energetic material qualification testing of new alpha cellulose board gun propellant

Dr Tristan Klimartin, Defence Science and Technology Group

Novel instrumentation technique to derive critical diameter in PBXN-111

Dr Valerian Kuznetsov, Defence Science and Technology Group

12:20pm - 12:50pm

Exploding foil initiator and fire set characteristics using statistical techniques to establish firing principles in accordance with STANAG 4560

Mr Paul Wittering, Thales UK

Mr Nick Kovess, Thales Australia

Development of a non-toxic cannon propellant formulation for current and future large calibre applications

Dr Daniel Baer, Thales Australia

Energetic material qualification of Thales Australia produced PBXN-111 (AX-2002)

Dr Caitlyn Neesam, Defence Science and Technology Group

Mr Nicholas Buggy, Thales Australia

12:50pm - 1:50pm

Lunch and Exhibition

1:50pm - 2:40pm

Panel Discussion

Room: Royal Theatre
Chair: Tim Gavel

T&E Panel Discussion

  • AIRCDRE Simon Bird GWEO Air

2:40pm - 2:50pm

Movement Break into Sessions

2:50pm - 3:20pm

Session 6A – Regulation and Risk Management

Room: Royal Theatre
Chair:

NATO Ammunition Recognition Program (NARP)

Mr Gilles Belley, Department of National Defence, Canada

Session 6B – Manufacturing

Room: Bradman Theatre
Chair:

Environmental impacts of explosive ordnance – Why should we care?

Ms Taryn Collaton, Defence Science and Technology Group

Session 6C – Safety and Suitability for Service

Room: Menzies Theatre
Chair:

Remote controlled fuzing – two approaches to standard compliant safety and suitability for service

Mr Jakob Breiner, MSIAC Brussels – Belgium

3:20pm - 3:50pm

Enabling proportional safety in conflict through adaptive explosive materiel limits

Mrs Norah Walden, GWEO Systems Division

Considerations in support of sovereign perchlorate manufacture in Australia

Mr Benjamin Boyle, Flinders University

Mr Julian Jones, Flinders University

Keep your distance! Safe separation and no-arm distance or fuzes

Mr Matthew Ferran, Department of Defence

3:50pm - 4:10pm

Afternoon Tea and Exhibition

4:20pm - 4:50pm

‎

Symposium Product Brief

Room: Bradman Theatre
Chair:

Use of RF to Emulate Explosive Effects

Mr Don Williams, Layer 3 Services

‎

7:00pm - 10:40pm

Symposium Dinner

Sponsors

Silver Sponsors

DG Air Freight

Karagozian & Case

Rurex

Bronze Sponsors

ADCO Constructions

University of New South Wales

Dinner Sponsor

Lockheed Martin Australia

Name Card & Lanyard Sponsor

Ascent

Media Partners

Asia Pacific Defence Reporter (APDR)

Australian Defence Magazine (ADM)

Defence Connect

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