Page 14 - Australian Defence Magazine Oct 2020

14 NEWS REVIEW INDUSTRY UPDATE
OCTOBER 2020 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
LOYAL WINGMAN BREAKS COVER
NIGEL PITTAWAY | MELBOURNE
BOEING Defence Australia’s secretive Air- power Teaming System (ATS), more com- monly known as Loyal Wingman, has been spotted by local sources out in the open.
Until now, the only released pictures of the unmanned platform have been care- fully controlled by the original equipment manufacturer, but it would appear that the aircraft is now being prepared for taxi trials at an undisclosed location, possibly Amberley, ahead of its first flight.
Until now Boeing has declined to reveal where the aircraft was being built, other than ‘somewhere in Queensland’ or when and where the first flight would take place, beyond saying ‘sometime in 2020’.
“The first ATS aircraft is currently un- dergoing ground testing, which will be followed by taxi and first flight later this year,” a Boeing spokesperson said today, but declined to confirm the location of these activities at this time.
The ATS is a joint program between BDA and Defence and known as Defence Project 6014 (Loyal Wingman Advanced Development Program) and launched amid much fanfare at the 2019 Australian Inter- national Airshow at Avalon by then Minis- ter for Defence Christopher Pyne. Under the terms of the project Defence is contrib- uting $40 million to build three ATS proto- typestofurtherexploretheconceptofair- power teaming, under which autonomous vehicles operate with manned platforms during a range of air combat missions.
According to Boeing data released at Avalon, the ATS is 38 ft (11.7 metres) long, with a wingspan of 24 ft, a range of 2,000 nautical miles and capable of ‘fighter-
like’ performance. It says the platform will include a range of sensors to enable it to perform Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) and Electronic Warfare roles, but since then very few de- tails been released.
Coincident with the roll-out of the first ATS air vehicle in May, Head Air Force Capability, Air Vice Marshal Cath Rob- erts revealed that the ATS platform will feature a 2.5 metre removeable and recon- figurable nose, with an internal volume of over 1.5 cubic metres, which will allow ‘a
FROM LEFT: Boeing’s Loyal Wingman ATS out in the open.
range of sensors and payloads’ to be in- stalled and tested.
In answer to ADM’s specific questions about its capabilities at the time, BDA Airpower
Teaming System program director Shane Arnott would reveal only that the sensor and payload suite will be based on the ‘mission needs’ of the customer and that the platform will be powered by a ‘com- mercial turbofan engine’. He said that BDA would not release any further de- tails of where the aircraft is being manu- factured, due to ‘Boeing, customer and supplier sensitivities’.
See this month’s From the Source in- terview with Boeing Defence Australia’s Scott Carpendale for more on this.
NAVAL GROUP TO OPEN NEW OFFICE IN PORT ADELAIDE
NAVAL Group Australia will open a new $25 million office in Port Adelaide as it gears up for the move to the Attack class submarine construction yard. The an- nouncement came as Naval Group Austra- lia welcomed its 250th employee as part of its ramp up of staff.
Naval Group Australia CEO John Davis said that the new facility would be opened in the coming months and represented a further step in the journey to At-
tack class submarine construction. “With our workforce rapidly ex- panding we need an additional base as we prepare for the move to the submarine construction yard at Osborne,” Davis said. “With more than 250 people now employed by
RIGHT: Naval Group’s workforce is expanding as sub construction approaches.
Naval Group Australia, our local work- force is growing and we are seeing the benefits of this exciting program to the lo- cal community.
Naval Group Australia has embarked on what it calls an ‘aggressive recruiting campaign’ with the workforce expected to increase to over 1,700 direct jobs in 2028.
The new office space will be able to host up to 350 employees.
NAVAL GROUP
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