Page 30 - Australian Defence Magazine June 2022

30 DEFENCE BUSINESS INDO PACIFIC
JUNE 2022 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
INTEGRATED AIR AND MISSILE DEFENCE
AIR 6500 is the future Joint Air Battle Management System for the ADF. In the words of Neale Prescott, Director Busi- ness Development for Lockheed Martin Australia (LMA), it is a 3D bubble sur- rounding Australia (underwater, on the Earth’s surface, and up into space) in which all objects of interest are identified, tracked and if need be – engaged.
Defence has down-selected LMA and Northrop Grumman Australia (NGA) to continue to the final stage of the competi- tive evaluation process (known as CEP Stage 2, which is a risk reduction activity).
The CEP is made up of three program increments, and LMA says it has just com- pleted a ‘major demonstration’ during the second increment. ADM understands that
a Request for Tender is expected before the end of the year.
According to Kendell Kuzcma, Interna- tional Business Development at Lockheed Martin, the Air 6500 solution will run un- der a ‘Continuous Authority to Operate’, a ‘new paradigm’ for Defence for which LM will draw on the experience of QinetiQ in the UK. The paradigm will allow more rapid technology insertion to adapt the solution to new requirements.
LMA says it is designing the develop- ment lifecycle for its Air 6500 solution in three month program increments, and down further into ‘sprints’, in order to bet- ter involve Defence as ‘part of the team’ – particularly on risk reduction priorities, such as avoiding operator overload.
ABOVE: (L to R) Lockheed Martin Australia’s Neale Prescott, Director RMS BD; Joshua Bolton, Penten’s general manager business strategy; Lockheed Martin Australia’s Air 6500 capture manager Kendell Kuczma, and Air 6500 program executive Steve Froelich at Indo Pacific 2022
There was also more open discussion at Indo Pacific on Air 6502 and Air 6503; medium-range ground-based air defence and advanced high-speed missile defence respectively. ADM understands the op- erational parameters for Air 6502 are roughly set at 70+ kilometres, whilst Air 6503 is concerned with hypersonic mis- sile defence.
Integration had proceeded smoothly, including with AFATDS (Advanced Field Artillery Terminal Data System), and this would again be tested in August by Exercise Koolendong involving 1 Brigade and ele- ments of the US Marine rotational force.
Future planning around Land 200 Phase 3 would hopefully be clarified at a meeting in August of the Land Environment Work- ing Group. Meanwhile SitaWare was now in service with more than 50 countries – including all those west of the Ukrainian border, and with the US 82nd Airborne Di- vision currently based in Poland. ■
ARMY’S INTERIM BMS TO REMAIN UNTIL AT LEAST 2024
SITAWARE software from Danish company Systematic deployed as an interim solution in Army’s digital command and control system is likely to remain in place until mid-2024, Vice-President for Asia-Pacific David Horton told ADM.
This followed the removal from service in May last year of Battle Management System (BMS) software provided by Elbit
Systems Australia after failing to achieve ADF ICT accreditation.
Elements of Sitaware’s Headquarters software application were already in ser- vice with Deployable Joint Force Head- quarters, and additional licences had sub- sequently been acquired by Defence for its deployment to 1, 3 and 7 Brigades and Headquarters 1st Division, Horton said.
LOCKHEED MARTIN AUSTRALIA