Page 40 - Australian Defence Magazine July-August 2021

40 INFRASTRUCTURE
JULY-AUGUST 2021 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
more than $2 million are classed as medium capital facili- ties projects and, while they are also required to be approved by Government, the PWC only re-
Budget/21-22/PBS.asp) for those interested, some of the major infrastructure works included in the capability ac- quisition programs are covered below as examples.
AIR PROJECTS
The RAAF’s Project Air 555 Phase 1 (Airborne ISREW) is acquiring four modified Gulfstream 550 aircraft, des- ignated MC-55A Peregrine, with the first due to arrive in Australia in 2023. The main operating base will be RAAF Edinburgh, which will include an ISR hub, and forward op- erating bases will be established at RAAF Townsville and Darwin, and on Cocos Island.
The 2021-2022 budget allocates $35.8 million of fund- ing across all four locations, against a total spend of $294.5 million.
The construction of the facilities at Edinburgh is being undertaken by Lendlease, following contract award in De- cember 2020 and works are expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2022. The completion of the entire works program is anticipated to occur by mid-2024.
Major infrastructure works are soon to begin at Edinburgh and Tindal to support the RAAF’s Northrop
ABOVE: 3rd Combat Service Support Battalion move in a convoy of Land 121 fuel and water module resupply vehicles.
“THE DOCUMENT PREDICTS A TOTAL
OF $17.52 BILLION WILL HAVE BEEN SPENT ON CAPABILITY ACQUISITION PROGRAMS OVER THE FORWARD ESTIMATES PERIOD”
quires notification of their scope. In addition to the funding allo- cated for the E&IG’s programs in the 2021-2022 Defence budget pa- pers, the document predicts a to- tal of $17.52 billion will have been spent on capability acquisition programs over the forward esti- mates period, between 2020-2021 and 2024-2025. Over the same pe- riod a total of $15.68 billion will be spent by E&IG on capability
sustainment programs.
APPROVED E&IG CAPABILITY
ACQUISITION PROJECTS
While these are undoubtedly large numbers, it is worth not- ing that the 2021-2022 Defence Portfolio Budget Statement forecasts work to be performed at dozens of military bases across the length and breadth of the country, in every State and Territory.
While a detailed breakdown of how much money will be spent, and where, can be found in the 2021-2022 Defence PBS on the Defence website (https://www.defence.gov.au/
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