Page 10 - Australian Defence Magazine Sep-Oct 2022

10 NEWS REVIEW INDUSTRY UPDATE
SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2022 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
US APPROVES JASSM-ER SALE TO AUSTRALIA
THE US State Department approved a For- eign Military Sale of Lockheed Martin’s Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile - Ex- tended Range (JASSM-ER) to Australia for an estimated US$235 million.
Australia has requested to buy 80 JASSM-ER (AGM-158B with telemetry kits and/or AGM-158B-2 configurations).
“The proposed sale will improve Austra- lia’s capability to meet current and future threats by providing advanced, long-range strike systems for employment from Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) air platforms including, but not limited to, the F/A-18F Super Hornet and F-35A Lightning II,” the State Department said in its approval.
LEFT: JASSM is integrated on a range of aircraft
The approval follows the announcement of April 5 this year that Defence would ac- celerate the acquisition of the JASSM-ER for the RAAF, as well as the Naval Strike Missile (NSM) for the RAN’s surface fleet and maritime mines.
“With Australia’s strategic environment becoming more complex and challenging, our ADF must be able to hold potential adversary forces and infrastructure at risk from a greater distance,” former Minister for Defence Peter Dutton said.
“These world-class strike weapon sys- tems will equip our forces to better pro- tect Australia’s maritime approaches and when necessary, contribute to Coalition operations in our region.”
“The JASSM-ER will enable the FA-18F Super Hornet, and in future the F-35A Lightning II, to engage targets at a range of 900km.”
CEA TECHNOLOGIES TO SUPPLY FOUR NEW AIR DEFENCE RADARS
CANBERRA-BASED company CEA Tech- nologies is building four new Air Defence radars as part of the government’s $2.7 billion investment in Defence’s new Joint Air Battle Management System.
Minister for Defence Industry Pat Con- roy welcomed the capability boost that the Australian designed and built radars are expected to provide.
“The new sensors will be able to de- tect aircraft and missile threats at great- er ranges and with increased accuracy than our current systems, allowing for real-time critical information to be re- ceived and affording greater warning, decision and response time,” Minister Conroy said.
“As a critical component of the Joint Air Battle Management System, the radars will enhance situational awareness and interoperability across the Joint Force, and with our allies.”
Minister Conroy said the selection of this home-grown radar technology re- flected the Australian Government’s broader commitment to maximising Aus- tralian industrial participation within De- fence capability acquisition and sustain- ment projects.
“The contract will directly contribute to growing the CEA Tech-
nologies workforce
from 530 staff to over
800 in coming years,” Minister Conroy said.
“The Australian de- signed and built radars will use CEA Tech-
RIGHT: Radar systems at CEA Technologies in Canberra
nologies’ proven Active Electronically Scanned Array radar technology.
“CEA Technologies is a world-leading business in radar technology and a key de- fence industry partner in Australia, with its radar technology currently installed on the Royal Australian Navy’s Anzac Class Frigates.”
DEFENCE
LOCKHEED MARTIN/USAF