Now they could become a mainstay of technology as part of the Australian Army, as part of a new program for Australian defence companies.

The C4 EDGE program will help deliver more than $4 million of battlefield communication designs for the army.

Of the 17 companies across the country that are a part of the program, seven of them are from the ACT.

Among them include Canberra-based companies 1LM, Insitec MIS, Kord Defence, Outlander Solutions, Penten, Skykraft and XTEK.

Chief executive of EOS Grant Sanderson, who will be working with the ACT companies as part of the program, said it was a way to keep defence partnerships locally, rather than outsourcing to larger companies overseas.

"The army is looking for a demonstration of what Australia is capable of," Mr Sanderson said. "There are a lot of requirements that defence and the army have for new ground tactical communication networks, and the Australian industry is potentially part of the building those for all of the integrated networks."

Canberra companies part of the program will work together to design proposal for how their technologies can be used by defence.

"Potentially the prospect is to progress this and then take those designs and turn them into real demonstrations," Mr Sanderson said.

"These can be for integrated radios and new cryptography technology and tracking capabilities."

It's hoped the proposals put forward by companies will be delivered by 2021.

READ MORE:

Colonel Deane Limmer said defence was working to evaluate many of the proposals put forward by the companies to see how they would work in real-world scenarios.

"We're going to be exploring what elements of the communication ecosystem can be built in this country," he said.

Mr Sanderson said while the program was in its early stages, it could lead to further opportunities for Australian defence companies.