STRONG AIR PRESENCE
Victoria leads the way in aerospace design, manufacture and training. Over the last ten years, Victorian companies have secured 65 per cent by value of all contracts awarded to Australia for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) project - the most of any state.
The JSF project will supply 72 planes to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) including associated facilities, weapons and training. Lockheed Martin is partnering with the Australian defence industry, with companies such as Melbourne-based Marand which will supply 700 F-35 vertical tail fins over the next 20 years and Lovitt Technologies contributing airframe design, component machining and materials analysis.
Lockheed Martin is also partnering Pilatus Aircraft and Hawker Pacific to provide a new Australian Defence Force pilot training system at RAAF East Sale – a seven-year contract worth $1.2 billion generating $2 billion for Victoria’s economy.
Melbourne is home to Boeing Aerostructures Australia and Boeing Australia’s R&D facilities. The facility produces the Boeing Airpower Teaming System Aircraft, which is Australia’s first sovereign designed and produced military combat aircraft in over 50 years.
Global aerospace company Leonardo recently established a helicopter gearbox repair and overhaul facility in Melbourne’s Fisherman’s Bend Innovation Precinct, the only such facility in the southern hemisphere.
Melbourne based companies such as Textron Systems Australia and SYPAQ Systems specialise in the design and manufacturing of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for military and civilian applications.
Thales Australia’s Melbourne Centre of Excellence for Air Traffic Management develops airspace control systems for civil and military use. The Centre exports TopSky systems throughout the Asia-Pacific region and beyond to Africa and the Middle East. TopSky will contribute to a Civil Military Air Traffic Management Systems (OneSky) for AirServices Australia and the RAAF.
Victorian company AME Systems is the third company in the world to gain certification from Northrop Grumman to develop wire harnesses for the MQ-4C Triton.
