Page 18 - Australian Defence Magazine September 2018

NEWS REVIEW
INDUSTRY UPDATE
Marand marks F-35 milestone
Marand has been involved in the F-35 program since 2002.
tin’s production facility in Fort Worth, Texas, in August 2017."
Last year BAE Systems Australia deliv- ered more than 1,700 titanium parts into the F-35 program through Marand. Cur- rently 300 components for the F-35 verti- cal tail are being produced per month.
In a statement, BAE said it had achieved peak production rate of machining titani- um parts for the program at its Edinburgh Parks facility in South Australia.
“Our involvement in supplying parts for the next generation F-35 has provided the catalyst for a significant investment that has enabled us to expand a bespoke advanced manufactur- ing capability,” BAE Systems Chief Executive Gabby Costigan said. “It has also provided significant opportunities within our Austra- lian supply chain as we will be supplying parts into this program for the next two decades. The expanded machining facility and our highly skilled Australian workforce will help us to secure new opportunities in defence or commercial sectors.”
The global F-35 program will support up to 5,000 Australian jobs by 2023.
Australia’s first six JSFs are currently op- erating at the international Pilot Training Centre at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona, US, with four more aircraft expected to be delivered by the end of this year.
Two of Australia’s F-35A aircraft are scheduled to arrive for permanent basing at RAAF Base Williamtown in December.
VICTORIAN company Marand Preci- sion Engineering has delivered its 50th Vertical Tail in support of the F-35 pro- gram. Marand, which has been involved in the F-35 program since 2002, is now an established supplier of F-35 Vertical Tails, with Australian-produced tails on the aircraft of several partner nations, in- cluding Australia.
According to Minister for Defence Industry Christopher Pyne, Marand’s achievement, with the support of BAE Systems, demonstrates the strength of Australia’s defence industry in a competi-
tive global market and the importance of international collaboration.
“Through its partnership with BAE Systems, and with the support of its Aus- tralian and European supply chain, Ma- rand has delivered its 50 Conventional Take-Off and Landing Vertical Tails all to schedule and without a single customer quality issue,” Minister Pyne said. “In what was a major milestone for the Aus- tralian F-35A Project, an Australian-made Vertical Tail – produced by Marand – was fitted to Australia’s third F-35A aircraft as it neared completion at Lockheed Mar-
Australian Space Agency kicks off national roadshow
KATHERINE ZIESING | CANBERRA
THE first of the Australian Space Agen- cy (ASA) engagement kicked last month in Canberra, with over 100 people reg- istering to attend the event and similar numbers expected for each of the ses- sions around the country. A mix of in- dustry, government, academia and inter- ested parties gathered to help chart the course ahead.
While the ASA is only a few weeks old, they are aware of the scale of the challenge before them and are seeking to engage with industry as the government policy comes together.
Building on the work done by the Space Expert Reference Group the roadshow se- ries is a fact-finding mission to gauge the expectations of industry and academia on the new agency. The ASA confirmed that they are working on an interim strategy document that they hope to release short- ly to support the changes in space related legislation that are currently making their way through government. Agency staff also confirmed that they would have a focus on the civil use of space with an appreciation of the overlap that happens in regard to Defence.
18 | September 2018 | www.australiandefence.com.au
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