Page 54 - Australian Defence Magazine April-May 2021

54 EW 9102
APRIL-MAY 2021 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
AFTER a small delay, Defence is expected to issue a Request for Tender (RFT) for JP9102 to industry around the end of April and is seeking to acquire a sovereign secure satellite communications capability that will be crucial to future Australian Defence Force operations at home and through- out the Indo-Pacific region.
To understand more about Airbus’ proposal and the company’s ambitions in the space domain more broadly, ADM recently spoke with Airbus Australia managing di- rector Andrew Mathewson and JP9102 strategic campaign lead Martin Rowse.
JP9102 OVERVIEW & TIMELINE
The requirements for JP9102 were broadly outlined in the 2016 Defence Integrated Investment Program, which forecast an outlay of between two and three billion dollars on satellite and terrestrial communications between 2016 and 2029.
These broad requirements were more recently under- pinned in the 2020 Force Structure Plan. “Continued in- vestment and development of space capabilities will be re- quired to further improve Defence’s resilience and enhance a large number of space-dependant capabilities across the Joint Force,” the document states. “Investment of around $7 billion in space capabilities over the next decade, which includes investment in sovereign-controlled satellites, will provide assured access to these services when needed.”
JP9102 will deliver a secure communications system ca- pable of providing command and control for a deployed Joint Task Force across an area of the globe, from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and encompassing South-East Asia. The capability is also intended to be capable of adapting to chang- ing requirements throughout the region, rapidly evolving technology and the ever-increasing demand on bandwidth.
The original timeline called for the first satellite to be- come operational in 2026, with a full capability in the early 2030s. This schedule foresaw an RFT release in March this year and a requirement communicated to industry in September last year, noted that, in order to submit a com- pliant proposal, prospective bidders must factor in Com- monwealth ownership of the mission system. However, fol- lowing a rethink about the ownership model, Defence has now advised industry that Government has asked it to also consider non-Defence owned satellites.
“For clarity, Defence’s core capability requirements will re- main common to both satellite ownership models, including the requirement for Defence control of the entire system,” Defence further advised in late February. “All tenderers must submit a Defence owned and operated solution but may also offer, as an option, non-Defence owned satellites.”
The need to amend tender documentation accordingly has resulted in the slippage of the RFT by between four and six weeks.
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