Page 20 - Defence Industry Guide #53

20 DEFENCENEWS
ADM’s Defence Industry Guide 2021 | Edition 53 | www.defencesuppliers.com.au
AIRBUS AND NORTHROP GRUMMAN SIGN TEAMING AGREEMENT
AIRBUS AUSTRALIA PACIFIC has signed a strategic teaming agreement with Northrop Grumman Australia to cooper- ate in the delivery of advanced and opti- mised aircraft sustainment capabilities at RAAF Base Edinburgh in SA.
The collaboration between the Austra- lian operations of the two companies will see a focus on aircraft sustainment activi- ties from 2021 onwards.
“At Airbus Australia Pacific, we are proud to provide ongoing sup- port to the sustainment activities on critical platforms for the RAAF with Northrop Grumman Australia,” An- drew Mathewson, Managing Director Airbus Australia Pacific, said. “Our strategic teaming agreement allows us to expand on our collective capabilities and provide our RAAF customer with the best possible outcomes.”
“With the imminent arrival of ground-based infrastructure for the
MQ-4C Triton unmanned
system, we are already
working on expanding our
presence at Edinburgh,”
Chris Deeble, chief ex-
ecutive, Northrop Grum-
man Australia, said. “This
agreement underscores
Northrop Grumman’s com-
mitment to Australian in-
vestment across advanced capabilities, skills and jobs
in support of the country’s strategic de- fence programs.”
Northrop Grumman is building the MQ-4C Triton Network Integration Test Environment at RAAF Base Ed- inburgh, which will allow the RAAF to progress from basic continuity testing between distributed environments to an advanced integration capability de- velopment environment.
Australia is currently scheduled to re-
ceive the first ground control station in 2022 and the first Triton air vehicles in 2023. In June the Commonwealth reiter- ated its committed to the program despite a production pause announced in US bud- get papers earlier in the year. ■
ABOVE: Australia is currently scheduled to receive the first ground control station in 2022 and the first Triton air vehicles in 2023.
RHEINMETALL TO EXPORT AUSTRALIAN TURRETS TO HUNGARY
RHEINMETALL has announced an ex- port order in excess of $150 million dollars from Australia to the Hungar- ian Armed Forces to supply digital Lance turrets, which will be designed and manufactured at the company’s new Military Vehicle Centre of Excel- lence (MILVEHCOE) in South East Queensland.
Last month, the Hungarian govern- ment announced that it was entering a joint venture to supply the Hungarian armed forces with 218 Lynx infantry fighting vehicles. Under the agreement, which is worth over two billion euros, Hungary, a NATO and EU member state, will become the first customer for Rheinmetall’s next-generation IFV.
The program includes the digital Lance turret to en- able the crew to access sensor systems, advanced automatic tracking and targeting capabili- ties and weapon- integrated bat- tle management all in one con- nected and enabled platform.
Exports from Australia and Germany are a key part of the program as the Hungarian joint venture constructs lo- cal manufacturing operations
during the first phase of production. This will see at least 30 of the first 46 digital Lance turrets supplied from Australia during Phase 1.
“We welcome this major export con- tract, and we look forward to the follow on turret and kit orders to be awarded by other European customers,” Gary Stewart, Chief Executive of Rhein- metall Vehicle Systems Asia Pacific and Managing Director of Rheinmetall Defence Australia, said.
The Hungarian export program will reportedly be expanded in the coming months to include a further 127 Lance turret kits from RDA, and Australian- designed and manufactured products supplied by local SMEs. ■
ABOVE: The Hungarian armed forces are acquiring 218 Lynx infantry fighting vehicles..
RHEINMETALL
NORTHROP GRUMMAN