Page 58 - Australian Defence Magazine April-May 2021

58 EW 9102
APRIL-MAY 2021 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
LEFT: The Skynet constellation has seen massive improvements since its inception in the late 1970s.
digital processing technology, which will provide greater capacity and versatility than the current satellites. Skynet 6A is based on the European Eurostar Neo telecommunica- tions satellite vehicle and the program passed its Prelimi- nary Design Review (PDR) milestone November 2020. The launch of Skynet 6A is currently scheduled to occur in 2025.
In addition to the Skynet 5 network, Airbus DS provides military SATCOM services for France, Germany, Spain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In March 2020, the company was awarded a 10-year contract with the French Directorate General of Armaments (Direction générale de l'armement, DGA) for the construction and upgrading of the ground segment for the communications satellites operated by the French Armed Forces, as part of its Syracuse IV pro- gram and known as Copernicus.
In Australia, Airbus Australia Pacific was an early mem- ber of the government’s SmartSat Co-operative Research Centre (CRC), a partnership between industry and aca- demia to develop the country’s space capabilities. It is also working with DST Group on a number of its aspirational space-related Science, Technology and Research (STaR) Shots. Airbus has recently submitted an Expression of In- terest to become a strategic partner in the Resilient Multi- Mission Space STaR Shot focussing on a range of science and technology themes utilising small satellites.
Airbus is also an active player in the civil satellite commu- nications sector and, in an Australian context, the company signed a contract with Optus in July last year for the sup- ply of the Optus 11 satellite, based on the company’s One- Sat product. Optus 11 will be a fully configurable vehicle aimed at delivering a combination of Ku-band broadcast and broadband services over Australia and NZ.
“Our space ambitions are not just focussed on JP9102,
“FOR CLARITY, DEFENCE’S CORE CAPABILITY REQUIREMENTS WILL REMAIN COMMON TO BOTH SATELLITE OWNERSHIP MODELS, INCLUDING THE REQUIREMENT FOR DEFENCE CONTROL OF THE ENTIRE SYSTEM.”
we have a strong heritage of partnering around the world and we really see our ability to partner with governments and other companies as a differentiating capability,” Mathewson added.
JP9102 PROPOSAL
While Airbus will naturally await the release of the tender before tailoring its response, it is looking to provide a com- plete end-to-end solution for the Commonwealth’s require- ments, from somewhere between two and four satellites in Geostationary Orbit (GEO), to the ground control segment and an initial five-year sustainment package.
“We have to wait for the RFT to see exactly what the re- quirements will be, but we’re anticipating that we will be able to leverage the work we do with the UK with the Sky- net system, particularly looking at Skynet 6A,” Mathew- son explained.
Rowse notes that Airbus has been providing an end-to- end solution for Skynet 5 to the UK MoD for the last 18 years, albeit under the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) methodology where Airbus actually owns the assets, and the company is willing to explore both acquisition models with the Commonwealth.
“We’re not expecting the Commonwealth to decide on the PFI model, but I think it demonstrates there are multiple ways in which they can achieve their desired sovereign so- lution,” he said. “We’re looking to use our experience with the UK MoD, and Defence here in Australia is pretty similar in terms of scale, its exploratory nature, in terms of working with allies and conducting operations with multiple partners.
“We can also offer a blended team solution, utilising both military personnel and civilian Airbus employees, exactly as we have done on Skynet 5 for almost two decades.”
AIRBUS