Page 14 - Australian Defence Magazine October 2019

NEWS REVIEW
INDUSTRY UPDATE
Boeing completes ASW upgrades on Kiwi Orions
An RNZAF P-3K2 Orion flies past HMAS Warramunga’s boarding team as they conduct a boarding.
tics operators experience real- world mission scenarios.
This upgrade will help bridge the gap until the arrival of new P-8A Poseidons.
Boeing partnered with Air- bus NZ and Beca Applied Technologies on the aircraft installation and software, and with Marops to provide the acoustic scenario generator for
the airborne acoustic trainer.
In 2018, NZ Minister of Defence Ron
Mark recognized Boeing and its partners with the Minister of Defence Award of Excellence for their contributions to the upgrade project.
“Boeing’s exceptional leadership of this upgrade project, with the team of New Zealand companies supporting it, is a great example of the collaboration that I am keen to see expanded into other de- fence capabilities,” Mark said.
As a result of this upgrade, RNZAF acoustics operators can start operations with P-8A aircraft.
The RNZAF has signed a Letter of Ac- ceptance with the US Navy to purchase four P-8As through the Foreign Military Sales process.
BOEING recently upgraded the Royal NZ Air Force’s (RNZAF) fleet of six P-3K2 Orion aircraft with new acoustics process- ing and training simulation technology.
Delivered under a US$22 million con- tract to enhance the nation’s airborne anti- submarine warfare (ASW) capability, this is the first time the technology has been installed on P-3 Orion aircraft anywhere in the world.
First awarded in late 2016, the project included upgrades and modifications to mission systems and aircraft components,
as well as inflight and ground-based simulation for training, spares and main- tenance support. With the first aircraft upgrades completed just under 18 months following contract award, the final aircraft is now complete.
Boeing’s solution utilizes deployed so- nobuoys to detect the type and location of submarines and sends information back to the acoustics operator. The upgrade also includes an onboard training system that simulates deploying buoys and receiving underwater acoustic data to ensure acous-
Birdon secures US contracts worth $575m
THE Birdon Group, headquartered in Port Macquarie, has announced that its US subsidiary has been awarded two new con- tracts worth up to US$390m (AU$575m).
In one contract, valued at up to AU$281m, Birdon America has been appointed to carry out an upgrade of the US Coast Guard (USCG) fleet of 47-foot Motor Lifeboat (MLB) vessels under its Service Life Extension Pro- gram (SLEP).
The SLEP is planned to extend the work- ing life of the Coast Guard fleet for 20 years and enhance key aspects of the MLB’s op- erational capability and performance.
The contract is for ten years under a five plus five arrangement. The work will be led from Birdon America’s headquarters in Denver, Colorado, and carried out in shipyards in Oregon and Virginia, servic-
ing the Coast Guard fleets on the west and east coasts of the US.
In the second contract, worth up to AU$294m, Birdon America has secured a five-year extension to its existing contract to supply Bridge Erection Boats (BEBs) to the US Army. Birdon won the fiercely-contested tender to supply
the BEBs in 2014.
BEBs are used to build tempo-
rary floating bridges when exist- ing bridge crossings have been de- stroyed in military conflict.
Under the extension to the US Army contract, Birdon America will build and deliver a further 247 BEBs, resulting in a total of 435
A Birdon bridge boat in use by the US Army.
BEBs to field locations in the US, Ger- many, Korea, Kuwait and Puerto Rico. Birdon America will expand its produc- tion facilities by more than 40 per cent and staffing by an estimated 25 per cent to accommodate the increased demand.
14 | October 2019 | www.australiandefence.com.au
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