BAE Systems has completed a successful Production Readiness Review (PRR) for manufacturing critical airframe components for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Program.

AgustaWestland and its partners BAE Systems Australia and CAE Australia revealed at Nowra last month they would offer the new-generation GrandNew variant of the AW109 helicopter in their bid for the Helicopter Aircrew Training System (HATS) under Project Air 9000 Ph.7.

BAE Systems Australia has selected Australian Aerospace Composites (AAC) to manufacture Dorsal Fins for the Evolved SeaSparrow Missile (ESSM). The Dorsal Fins will be manufactured at AAC’s Brisbane facility.

Three years before the first of the RAN’s three Hobart-class AWDs is due for delivery, RAN specialists have received their first hands-on experience of the Aegis combat system that is at the heart of the ships’ warfighting capability.

Australia’s defence SMEs face a couple of lean years in the domestic market. The Commonwealth is trying to help local firms pursue Global Supply Chain opportunities, and the so-called “Hidden Champions” in Europe’s SME sector may provide models, lessons and inspiration.

In a surprise move the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, has appointed the Secretary of the Department of Defence, Dr Ian Watt, Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

Force Protection is a Darwinian struggle driven by the threats facing Australian troops deployed on operations overseas. The issue isn’t just a technical one however: its about training, tactics and procedures as well as organisational factors.

BAE Systems has shipped the first of its 180 tonne Air Warfare Destroyer blocks from the Williamstown yard in Victoria to the ASC facility at Osborne in South Australia.

Force Protection Australasia Pty Ltd announced it has submitted a bid to the Defence Materiel Organisation for the manufacture of Special Operations Vehicles - Commando.

A new training device at RAAF Base Richmond will assist Air Force C-130 Hercules crews in preparing for the threats that they can face on operations.

This year’s D+I Conference was as interesting for what Defence speakers didn’t say at the time as for what they did say. The spoken message was one of cost control, of efficient budgeting and achieving project schedules; the body language spoke of major changes in defence acquisition, with further announcements to follow.

After flying below the radar in Australia for much of the past decade KBR is finally emerging into the light to stake its own claim on a number of emerging defence opportunities.

Perth-based simulation specialist Calytrix used the ITEC-Germany event in May this year to showcase the fruits of 18 months of development work with its local and international partners.

A recent study of the defence industry’s Systems Engineering and Systems Integration capabilities warns Australia needs to grow in these areas – as does Defence itself, which needs to take a strategic approach to this essential component of operational capability.

The Minister for Defence Materiel Jason Clare signed a Global Supply Chain Deed in June with US firm Northrop Grumman. This is the first step in helping Australian companies access more opportunities through Northrop Grumman’s global supply chain, he said.

By the time General Dynamics Land Systems Australia (GDLSA), as the OEM, sat down with the DMO to negotiate their proposal for through life support (TLS) of the Army’s armoured vehicles, other aspiring contenders had dwindled in the face of the complex requirements and GDLS’s Canadian knowhow on performance-based contracts.