Page 143 - Australian Defence Magazine Sep-Oct 2022

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SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT HELICOPTER SUSTAINMENT 143
neering services and maintenance, and repair and overhaul. A further announcement by then-Prime Minister Scott Morrison in May this year put the cost of the Apache Guardian program at $5.5 billion, with $500 million to be invested in upgrading unspecified facilities to support the
new helicopters.
The announcement was also for an additional 12 MH-
60R Romeo anti-submarine/multi-mission naval helicop- ters, which Morrison said in his press release would see the creation of an additional 290 jobs “for electricians, me- chanics and engineers” to support their maintenance and “hundreds” more jobs for small businesses associated with the supporting supply chains of both fleets.
ABOVE: Personnel from the United States Army 1-229th Attack Reconnaissance Battalion brief former Chief of Army LTGEN Rick Burr on the capabilities of the AH-64 Apache in the Shoalwater Bay Training Area
BOEING DEFENCE AUSTRALIA
Boeing Defence Australia, for its part, said that it would continue to expand industry capability and its supply chain in Australia by selecting Australian suppliers to support the program. Managing Director Scott Carpendale noted following the Commonwealth’s announcement that BDA’s industry strategy “includes delivering sovereign in-service