Page 104 - Australian Defence Magazine Dec21-Jan22

104 MAJOR PROJECTS REVIEW
DECEMBER 2021-JANUARY 2022 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
2021 A YEAR IN REVIEW
Despite the worsening impacts of COVID-19, 2021 was a busy time in terms of major Defence acquisition projects, with many making news over the past twelve months.
NIGEL PITTAWAY | MELBOURNE
THERE has been a lot to write about this year as the plans set out under the 2016 Defence White Paper, the Defence Force Strategic Plan (FSP2020) and Strategic Update (DSU2020) continue to gain traction.
Besides acquisition milestones, there were bumps in the road however - including Army’s decision to remove its El- bit Systems Australia Battle Management System (see Ju- lian Kerr’s story on page 28) and the quiet relegation of Air Force’s Leonardo C-27J Spartan from battlefield airlift to ‘light tactical fixed wing aircraft’ roles.
But the elephant in everyone’s room was without doubt the government’s scrapping of the Attack-class Future Sub- marine program for a nuclear-powered submarine of a de- sign (and country of manufacture) yet to be decided.
While space precludes an in-depth review of major ac- quisition programs, the following provides an overview of some reported upon by ADM over the course of 2021 - with a glimpse into 2022 and beyond.
LAND PROJECTS
In terms of Land projects, 2021 kicked off with the announce- ment on 15 January by then Defence Minister Linda Reyn- olds that 29 Boeing AH-64E Apache Guardian helicopters will be acquired under the $4-5 billion Land 4503 program, replacing Airbus Helicopters’ Tiger Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH) from 2025. Although a competitive evalu- ation process was not undertaken, Reynolds said a number of off-the-shelf helicopters had been considered against key