Page 8 - Australian Defence Magazine November 2022

8 NEWS REVIEW INDUSTRY UPDATE
NOVEMBER 2022 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
DEFENCE REPLACES C-130J WITH C-130J
LEFT: A Royal Australian Air Force C-130J Hercules lands at President Nicolau Lobato International Airport in Dili, Timor-Leste.
“Defence seeks a low risk, certified in all roles, proven, mature and affordable replacement aircraft that meets Australia’s air mobility needs. Project principles have incorporated lessons learned from previous major Defence acquisitions as well as the in- service experience with the current C-130J fleet.
“Defence has identified that the new C-130J aircraft represents the only option that meets all of Australia’s capability requirements and
assures Defence’s medium air mobility capability without introducing substantial cost, schedule and capability risk.
“As a result, new C-130J aircraft will be the only option that Defence will progress for Government approval under Project Air 7404 Phase 1 in 2023.”
DEFENCE is replacing and expanding its current medium air mobility fleet of 12 C-130J Hercules aircraft with 24 C-130J aircraft under Project Air 7404 Phase 1.
The C-130J Hercules has been operated by the RAAF since 1999.
“Defence has approached a number
of aircraft manufacturers and received information on all available medium air mobility options. The relative merits of each aircraft type have been assessed against Australia’s capability require- ments,” the Department said in a re- lease.
EM SOLUTIONS SIGNS RAN SATCOM SUPPORT SERVICES CONTRACT
CASG has selected EM Solutions to carry out Introduction into Service and Support Services for the RAN’s existing fleet of Cobra Maritime Satellite Communications (SATCOM) terminals for a period of three years, through to August 2025.
The contract, which is initially valued at approximately $25.7m, gives CASG the ability to purchase additional terminals as needed to meet requirements for new ship builds and for the provision of enhanced SATCOM capabilities to existing ships.
In recent years, EM Solutions’ Cobra terminals have been purchased and installed through various individual ADF project offices. This contract, however, provides for consistent sparing, support and training packages to be developed across the entire installed base.
The development and implementation of the contracted services will occur at EM Solutions’ Brisbane facility. This will also
RIGHT: John Logan, VP Programs, EM Solutions with Belinda Templeman, Acting Assistant Secretary Joint C4 Systems Branch and Joint Systems Division, CASG.
assist in EM Solutions’ development into a full-service company as it delivers Australian developed and manufactured technology to allied navies around the world.
“The trust the ADF has shown in EM Solutions to supply and support its naval SATCOM requirements is a credit to all of our team who have enabled our business to achieve this milestone,” EM Solutions’ Vice President of Programs, John Logan, said.
“This contract is a marker for our further growth into a support and service
organisation, in addition to our better- known capabilities in product design and manufacturing.
“Our journey to this point comes on the back of the tremendous support the company has received from the Australian Department of Defence in developing and commercialising its Cobra and next generation maritime SATCOM terminals.”
EM SOLUTIONS
DEFENCE