Page 8 - Australian Defence Magazine April 2019

NEWS REVIEW
INDUSTRY UPDATE
Australia chosen as JSF maintenance hub
A pair of RAAF F-35A Joint Strike Fighters over Nelson Bay, NSW.
RAAF base, as well as utilising its workshop capabilities in Edinburgh Parks, Adelaide.
“Australian companies have been award- ed 343 out of a possible 388 components in the latest tranche of assignments – a signifi- cant achievement and a major boost for our economy,” Minister for Defence Christo- pher Pyne said.
“This announcement again proves that our defence industry can equal and beat the best in the world when it comes to sustain- ing complex aviation assets.”
“It is clear that Australia will be in prime position to further expand as a regional F-35 maintenance hub and build on its global ca- pability into the future,” former Minister for Defence Industry Steven Ciobo said.
“Already local industry has secured more than AU$1.3 billion in contracts from F-35 design and production work, resulting in opportunities for Australian industry be- yond the F-35 program.”
“This announcement is the next step in opportunities opening up a market for air- craft component repair, which will be part of the F-35 Global Support Solution and ce- ments Australia as a key strategic partner in the global F-35 enterprise.”
AUSTRALIA has been chosen to provide maintenance, repair, overhaul and upgrades (MROU) for more components of the Joint Strike Fighter in the Asia Pacific.
The announcement adds to Australian industry’s prior winning of F-35 MROU assignments for the South Pacific, for pro- pulsion systems in the Asia-Pacific, and for 64 out of 65 Tier 1 components, as well as the Asia-Pacific regional warehouse.
The winning local companies include the Australian subsidiaries of: BAE Sys- tems for munitions, avionics and canopy systems; Northrop Grumman for avionics, composites, and electro-optics; MOOG for
hydraulics; and RUAG for pumps, landing gear, hydraulics, auxiliary power systems, and valves, as well as NIOA for munitions, General Electric Aviation for electrics, and Survitec Group for life support.
“The collaborative approach taken by the Australian Government and industry has been the key to the success in securing ad- ditional F-35 sustainment work for Austra- lian business,” BAE Systems CEO Gabby Costigan said. “It will put Australia at the forefront of F-35 component sustainment.”
BAE Systems plans to deliver the major- ity of the services for this contract from its Williamtown, NSW facility adjacent to the
World-first technology to revolutionise space imaging
A REVOLUTIONARY and world-first ap- proach to space imaging led by Western Syd- ney University’s International Centre for Neuromorphic Systems (ICNS) was dem- onstrated for the first time publicly at this year’s Avalon Airshow. The Astrosite, a mo- bile space situational awareness (SSA) mod- ule, is set to have game-changing impacts on a number of fields, including Defence.
Using biologically-inspired event-based cameras–camerasthatfunctionlikethe eye and brain to overcome limitations of cameras exposure times and saturation – the Astrosite can capture objects in space with unprecedented temporal resolution, and during the day in real time.
According to Professor André van Schaik, Director of ICNS, the technique could be the key to making space a safer place.
“With tens of thousands of man-made objects currently orbiting in space, the risk of collision between debris, satellites and spacecraft is real. This has become a serious
concern not only for organisations with a commercial interest in space, but also for national and international defence agencies.
“By using technology inspired by nature and biology, we have developed a dynamic imaging system that runs faster, computes more efficiently, uses far less power and produces less data than anything currently on the market,” Professor van
cording of objects in low earth orbit; facili- tate imaging in low-visibility environments; monitor space debris and allow the high- speed tracking of objects,” project research lead Associate Professor Greg Cohen said.
The Astrosite research team is based at the University’s International Centre for Neuromorphic Systems (ICNS).
Schaik said.
Defence application of
this technology has already sparked interest, with the RAAF’s Plan Jericho support- ing the design and develop- ment of the Astrosite.
“The potential uses of this technology are endless. For example, the Astrosite can ob- serve high-speed phenomena such as satellites and provide early warnings of potential col- lisions; allow the daytime re-
The Astrosite is a
mobile space situational awareness (SSA) module.
8 | April 2019 | www.australiandefence.com.au
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