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HIGHCOM LTD (HCL) - From Battlefield Protection to Drone Defence: HighCom's Evolution

• Andrew Musgrave

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The defence industry is experiencing a technological revolution, and Australian company HighCom Limited is positioning itself at the cutting edge. When HighCom CEO Todd Ashurst explains their proprietary XTclave™ technology, he doesn't mince words: "While ovens and autoclaves operate at 1 to 15 bar pressure, our technology goes to 300 bar pressure, which is like diving on the Titanic."

This remarkable pressure system represents a quantum leap in ballistic protection manufacturing. Unlike conventional methods, HighCom's approach allows for creating complex geometries impossible with standard technology – including anatomically correct female body armour and ultra-lightweight plates that maintain superior protection. The strategic relocation of this system from Adelaide to Ohio wasn't just about doubling production capacity; it was a calculated move to overcome the "Buy America Act" restrictions that had previously limited HighCom's access to the world's largest body armour market.

What makes HighCom particularly fascinating is how they're diversifying beyond traditional ballistic protection. Their recent $2.6 million contract with the Australian Department of Defence for counter-drone systems showcases their adaptability. Ashurst, drawing from his personal experience as a NATO counter-UAS officer in Afghanistan, sees this as a natural extension of their expertise. With over 160,000 armour plates already supplied to Ukraine and ten new XTclave™ manufactured products scheduled for release between September and January, HighCom exemplifies how Australian defence innovation is making global impact. Their unique approach combines technological superiority with strategic market positioning – creating lighter, stronger protection systems that both military personnel and shareholders can appreciate.

Ready to learn how Australian defence technology is revolutionising battlefield protection? Subscribe to ASX Briefs for more exclusive conversations with the executives reshaping crucial industries.

Andrew Musgrave Host

Welcome again to ASX Briefs, where we connect with the executives shaping Australia's most innovative companies and today we're joined by Todd Ashurst, the Chief Executive Officer of HighCom Limited, a company at the forefront of defence and personal protection innovation, supplying advanced ballistic products and counter drone systems to global military, law enforcement and national security clients. Todd, thanks for joining me today and welcome to the ASX Briefs podcast. 

Todd Ashurst Guest

Thank you very much, Andrew. Great to be here. 

Andrew Musgrave Host

Now, Todd. A good way to start off is for investors that may be unfamiliar with HighCom. Do you just want to provide a brief overview of the company? 

Todd Ashurst Guest

Absolutely. HighCom Group. We're an Australian-owned ASX-listed international defence and security industry company. We focus on providing high-performance ballistic protection and technology solutions to both military, law enforcement and government agencies. We achieved this through two of our subsidiaries HighCom Armour Solutions, which is based in the USA, and HighCom Technology Proprietary Limited, which is based with our group headquarters in Canberra. 

Andrew Musgrave Host

Okay, now just looking at some of the technology. So first of all, congratulations on the recommissioning of the XTclave™ system in Ohio. So how does this proprietary technology set HighCom apart from competitors in the advanced armour market? 

Todd Ashurst Guest

Well, I have to admit, Andrew, we're pretty excited about getting this machine recommissioned. It was operating successfully in Adelaide for approximately two years three years before I joined the company and the decision was made to move it to America, and I'll touch on that in a minute why. But the technology is proprietary. It's ultra-high isostatic pressure consolidation, purpose built for advanced composite manufacturing. 

Really, if I give a comparison here, while ovens and autoclaves operate at 1 to 15 bar pressure, our XTclave™ technology goes to 300 bar pressure, which is like diving on the Titanic. So, you're talking considerable, considerable pressure. But what that does is it allows us to make complex, high-performance geometries, such as helmets or complex curvatures, for example. One of the things we're working on is female body armour that is shaped with basically a complex shape in a body armour plate, which we can do in this machine. And, unlike hydraulic presses that apply only an axial force, our technology in the XTclave™ applies a uniform pressure in all directions, which actually provides a better consolidation of those materials. So normally what that means is we need less material to actually make a stronger product. 

 

 

Andrew Musgrave Host

Okay, and you've mentioned that the XTclave™ now has double the output capacity and can produce over 40,000 plates annually. So, what sort of commercial and defence opportunities does that unlock for HighCom? 

Todd Ashurst Guest

Well, again, the number one reason why we moved that technology to America was the number one body armour market in the world is the United States, pure and simple. It's a massive market and we had tried while we were in Adelaide to break into the US market, but the biggest restriction was the fact that it wasn't made in America. So, there's a Buy America Act that came in after the Second World War and there's a Berry Amendment to its which basically forces the US military to only buy American made body armour. So that was really the key catalyst decision for us to move it. And then, as part of that movement to America, we had the opportunity to upgrade it, and that's where we upgraded the pressure vessel size so we could get more capacity and that was much more with a mindset of let's actually go after government contracts in the US. So, we needed the greater capacity for it to operate. And then we had to change other systems, like the cooling system, which was about more the extreme climate. So, when I was back last in Columbus it was minus 18 in winter, so pretty cold, very different to Adelaide. But really, by us going down this pathway, we're working closely with DoDs to actually, you know, by working closely with them, they can see what the technology can do and we're counting on the fact that that will lead us down a contractual pathway with new products with them. 

Andrew Musgrave Host

Okay, and the recent $2.6 million contract with the Department of Defence for Counter Small Uncrewed Aerial systems is a notable pivot. So, what is HighCom's strategic vision for its role with the counter drone technology space? 

Todd Ashurst Guest

It seemed like a logical progression, if that makes sense, Andrew. We were in the drone space, have been in the drone space for a number of years and obviously you know I'm an ex-defence member and I knew the risk and in fact in my deployment to Afghanistan I was actually the counter UAS officer for NATO in the resolute support mission. So, to me it was a natural pivot for us to go start looking at counter UAS as an adjacency to our UAS activity. We really see that we've got a real good expertise with the technology, with this sort of capability, because they're all interlinked and there is associated understandings between them, what we've done for the counter UAS. 

I'm really proud of this pivot because it has caught a number of people by surprise. We kept it very, very quiet, but I can say now that we're proud to partner with My Defence who we're partnering with on this, which is a Danish company to deliver this counter-UAS drone technology to the Australian Army. What we're concentrating on at the moment is dismounted trials, which is aimed at supporting dismounted troops at the front line and protecting them. So, you know we actually believe in this product, we actually think it will provide the Commonwealth what they want and we're hoping that post-testing done by the Commonwealth, we see a further acquisition in 2026. 

 

Andrew Musgrave Host

Okay, now how does the integration of HighCom Armour and HighCom Technology position the business to respond to evolving defence needs, from personal protection to aerial surveillance and interdiction? 

Todd Ashurst Guest

Well, I guess we look at it and go. People might look at those two entities and go well, they're not really linked, but actually there's a number of synergies that we look at across a number of platforms. I have an innovation individual both in Australia and in the US, and they are continually meeting along where is their synergies? And that could be anywhere from how to integrate batteries on body armour or how do we actually integrate armour onto UAVs. So, there is opportunities that we are looking at across both spectrums, about where there is crossover or pollination, but also where is their support. 

So, for example, HighCom Technology is, you know, really about to become the exclusive reseller of HighCom Armour in the APAC region. And that is an exciting move forward. So, rather than do all the sales out of the US, I think in the current political climate we sort of recognise that having an Australian company sell the armour to the worldwide audience rather than American companies is probably a better way to go. And that's a better way to actually drive some growth. Again, because we have seen some instances where, you know, some European entities are not keen to do business with our American subsidiary, but they'll happily do business with the Australian subsidiary. So, we're looking at that. 

So, there is actually a synergy between the two entities that we haven't really tapped yet. And then there's that relationship we have with AV, Air Environment and their capabilities and we now represent them for both small UAS and also medium-sized UAS. And really the medium-sized UAS is a market that really now expands us into Navy, potentially even Air Force, but definitely battalion size and above for Army, and there's an opportunity here that really over the next few years we can tap into. 

Andrew Musgrave Host

And you've also secured a $3 million order from an international customer for ballistic products on top of an already robust order backlog. So how are you managing production capacity and timelines to meet the growing demand? 

Todd Ashurst Guest

Great question, Andrew. Look, I would actually say one of HighCom Armour's key strengths is the ability to scale quickly, to supply large orders at short notice, and what I like about that is it's never been a compromise of quality to achieve it. An example I'll give you is when Ukraine took off and occurred, our company delivered hundreds of thousands. Well, we now have over 160,000 plates that have been delivered into the Ukraine, and we were able to make that at scale and often we've only ever done it with one shift. So, if you look, I've got a factory that can run 24 hours if we had to, but so far, we haven't had to. But certainly, we're looking forward to the day when we do have to run multiple shifts in this factory. So, our capacity is still there. We've barely tapped it With the XTclave™ as well coming on. It actually has allowed us to now diversify our product range and that's the exciting thing for us because we actually see that'll help us grow our market even more. 

Because you know, basically, if I give you a quick lesson in body armour, you either make body armour in an oven or in a press or now in the XTclave™, and we have the only XTclave™ in the world. So bottom line is you can make a lot in an oven. It's like baking biscuits in an oven. You can make a lot in a short amount of time, and in a press you can. You can make better plates, but not as many as what you put in an oven and then, by the get time to get to the clave, you're making a top-notch, high quality, product quality product that, yes, you can't make as many, but they're going to be selling at a much better price, a much better margin, because it's a much better quality product. And the quality is all about. A buyer of body armour wants it to be lighter, thinner, tougher, stronger. 

Andrew Musgrave Host

And you touched on Ukraine, and obviously we're aware of all the geopolitical tensions at the moment going around the globe. So, are you seeing more demand across other global markets as well? 

Todd Ashurst Guest

We're seeing, the demand has actually changed a little bit. The footprint has changed. So previously we were getting those larger volume orders in one hit. But I think because of the turmoil at the political level across the world at the moment and angst around tariffs, we're actually seeing more of the orders being broken down into smaller orders and being done in sequence. So that's kind of sad because our shareholders aren't seeing these big orders come through for $5 million, $6 million, $3 million anymore. But we still have those steady orders coming through. They're just in smaller volumes which really aren't being announced to the share market on case-by-case because they don't hit the threshold. 

I think once because most of the you know, like Europe, a lot of them have announced budget increases but the money hasn't actually started flowing yet. So again, what we're planning to do in the next six months we'll be getting our new product out of the XTclave™. We're in research and development at the moment and it's really that product that we think is going to fire with people in the Western militaries, because it's exactly what they're after. You know, as a veteran myself of 32 years who's worn a lot of body armour, you know my back will attest to the fact that I wish I'd worn lighter stuff, and so this is why I'm a bit passionate about wanting to provide lighter capability, lighter plates, lighter ballistic armour for troops and first responders. 

Andrew Musgrave Host

Okay now, looking at things from a strategic point of view, can you speak to the role of your partnerships, such as the Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with the US Army, in shaping future product development and funding access? 

Todd Ashurst Guest

It's a really important relationship and the CRATER that Cooperative Research and Development Agreement that's been operating for a few years and really, it's a critical way to actually work with DoD and show them what we can do. And then that gives you a pathway to potentially win contracts because, quite frankly, if we can make something that they are that happy with, they'll write a specification for something that only we can make in our machine. And that's why that research component is critical and we're working not only on that CRATER, we're working very closely with us army development command um. As soon as we commissioned that XTclave™ on the 18th of June and it was working again, they were very, very happy because we've already started making product for them and sending it to them so they could actually start seeing what the machine could actually do. And they're starting to see the fact that what we've boasted about is actually coming true. So, it's a positive pathway to win future contracts. 

Andrew Musgrave Host

Okay, now just to wrap things up, Todd. Looking ahead to FY26 and beyond, what are some of the key milestone’s investors should watch out for that will define HighCom’s trajectory in the defence and security sector. 

Todd Ashurst Guest

Well, I'll say I think the key thing for us is getting our new product out. As I said, the XTclave™ yes, it's operational. It's in research and development at the moment. We're producing about 10 new products at the moment, so that's product that have all been in planning. Now that the machine is operational, we're focused on getting these through. But now we've got the machine in the right spot what we're actually doing is we have our own range at the facility. 

So, it's actually we can cook a plate one day, we can shoot it the next, we can get the data and then we can go make changes and cook it again. So, our research and development cycle has been accelerated rapidly from what we had in Australia. And I'd actually say I think the big news is going to be we think we'll be ready to start actually revealing the new product range between the end of September and January is when we're going to be gradually releasing all 10 of these new products over that time frame. So, I think that's the key thing in 2026 we're looking at. And then on the technology side, it is the counter UAS and where we can see where we can get that counter UAS growth as well as one of our key things that we have at the moment with our UAS systems with defence that are in service at the moment is trying to show them all the different and integrate all the different possible payloads with other Australian companies that can be used on these UAVs and show how really, how flexible these platforms are. 

Andrew Musgrave Host

Okay, Todd. Well, it's been great to chat today to get an update on where the company is at. So, thanks for your time and we look forward to the next update from HighCom in the upcoming months. 

Todd Ashurst Guest

Thank you very much, Andrew, appreciate it. 

Andrew Musgrave Host

That concludes this episode of ASX Briefs. Don't forget to subscribe and we look forward to catching you on our next episode.