Page 68 - Australian Defence Mag Sep 2020

68 SUSTAINMENT AIR
SEPTEMBER 2020 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
“We joined the F-35 Co-operative Program to acquire an air combat capability and influence outcomes, but a sec- ond major objective from a Government perspective, was to generate greater industry participation and I think we’ve been able to do that very well,” AIRCDRE van Leeuwen explained to ADM.
writ large, so we’ll be capable of supporting all F-35 aircraft operating in this part of the world, which is a great outcome for Australia,” AIRCDRE van Leeuwen commented.
From a powerplant perspective, TAE Aerospace won the contract to provide a regional MRO&U capability for the F-35’s Pratt & Whitney F135 engine and has established a new facility at Bundamba in Queensland to carry out the work. In February, TAE Aerospace completed its first F135 engine module repair (see PXX for more), and this is component is reportedly now flying in a US Air Force F-35A. More recently, the company announced in July that it has recently completed the first F135 Fan
“It is important to note that as part of the F-35 program we’re acquiring more than just a platform or air vehicle, we’re effectively acquiring an air system – which is the air vehicle plus all the off- board support systems that come with it. This includes the Global Support So- lution (GSS), which is a major sustain- ment element of the F-35 and Australia has done exceptionally well, in terms of winning regional assignments to sup- port the aircraft.”
Examples of this work include the es-
tablishment of an F-35 air vehicle Maintenance, Repair, Overhaul and Upgrade (MRO&U) facility at RAAF Base Williamtown, through a US contract won by BAE Sys- tems Australia. The facility is one of three established around the world – the others being in North America and Europe – and it has the potential to support F-35 operators across the Indo-Pacific region, which cur- rently includes Japan, Singapore and South Korea.
“That MRO&U facility forms part of the F-35 GSS
“FROM A REGIONAL COMPONENTS MRO&U PERSPECTIVE, OVER 400 INDIVIDUAL COMPONENTS HAVE BEEN ASSIGNED TO AUSTRALIAN COMPANIES FOR THE JSF PROGRAM.”
Module overhaul for the RAAF.
“From a regional components MRO&U perspective as well, over 400 individual components have been assigned to Australian compa- nies, including BAE Systems Australia, General Electric Aviation, Northrop Grumman Australia, Moog Australia, RUAG Australia, NIOA and Survivitec, so there are a sig- nificant number of good outcomes there too,” AIRCDRE
van Leeuwen added.
“We have also stood up Autonomic Logistics Informa-
tion System (ALIS) offboard information systems sup- port as a sovereign arrangement here in Australia. The
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