MH-60R Nowra Facility Underway
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ISSUE NO. 294 – THURSDAY 3RD APRIL 2014 SUBSCRIBER EDITION NEWS | INTELLIGENCE | BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES | EVENTS IN THIS ISSUE NATIONAL NEWS MH-60R Nowra facility underway . 1 New Chief of Joint Operations announced . 3 Levett Engineering lands F-35 contract 4 Defence interest in handheld IED detector . 4 Birdon aims to prioritise US expansion 5 Government supports job creating Defence Materials Technology Centre . 6 BAES continues support for Wedgetail EW systems . 6 DRS wins Anzac-class comms support . 7 No ordinary ATVs these . 8 Northrop Grumman to sponsor the 2014 UAV Outback Challenge . 9 An artist’s impression of what the MRO facility ADM Online: Weekly Summary . 10 will look like. (MHSCo) INTERNATIONAL NEWS Containerised ASW for regional OPVs 11. LCS mission modules – a disappointing MH-60R Nowra facility underway program for Oz . 11 Julian Kerr | Nowra P-8 performs first missions in Korea . 12 Rolls-Royce supports USMC KC-130Js 13 Work on a $30 million throughlife support facility for the FORTHCOMING EVENTS .......14 RAN’s 24 new Sikorsky-Lockheed Martin MH-60R combat PUBLISHING CONTACTS helicopters officially got underway March 26 with a ground ACTING EDITOR breaking ceremony at the aviation technology park alongside Nigel Pittaway Tel: 0418 596 131 HMAS Albatross in Nowra. Email: [email protected] The facility is being funded by the Maritime Helicopter Support Editor Katherine Ziesing is on maternity leave Company (MHSCo), a joint venture between Sikorsky Aircraft and Lockheed Martin that is represented in Australia by Sikorsky Helitech SENIOR CORRESPONDENT Tom Muir, and Lockheed Martin Australia. Tel: 02 6291 0126 Although the support contract for the RAN’s MH-60Rs is still under Email: [email protected] negotiation via the US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) channel, it’s SENIOR CORRESPONDENT understood to involve MHSCo in all aspects of MH-60R throughlife Julian Kerr, Email: [email protected] sustainment with the exception of routine line maintenance which will be carried out by RAN technicians. PUBLISHING ASSISTANT Erin Pittman, Referring to MHSCo’s performance-based logistics support to Tel: 02 6203 9535 the US Navy’s (USN’s) fleet of more than 500 Seahawk helicopters, Email: [email protected] company president Rod Skotty said MHSCo repairs or replaces up to MANAGING EDITOR 1,300 parts per helicopter as required, earning a fixed price for every Judy Hinz, Tel: 07 3348 6966 hour the helicopters are flown. Email: [email protected] However, the scope of activity in Australia would far exceed what SUBSCRIPTIONS was being provided to the USN, and the new facility represented “a Martin Phillpott, Toll Free 1800 807 760 sustainment capability of strategic consequence” Email: [email protected] Rear Admiral Tony Dalton, Head Helicopter Systems Division ADM’s Defence Week Premium Edition – This publication is copyright and may not be reproduced in whole or part without the permission of the publisher. NEWS at the DMO, noted that some 200 submarines were in service in Australia’s area of interest. “That makes this program vital to the defence of the nation and a high profile program within Defence itself”. Sustaining the aircraft in service was a bespoke program which would be watched very carefully, he added. When completed early next year, the Nowra operation will involve about 120 MH-60R support staff, including representatives from the USN, RAN, Sikorsky and Sikorsky Helitech, Lockheed Martin and Lockheed Martin Australia, and General Electric. Thirty staff are already on-site. Framed by a hangar window, members of The new facility will comprise two the Flight Deck Team standby after securing separate buildings; one a 3,300 a MH-60R Seahawk from Helicopter Strike square metre warehouse and offices, Squadron Seven Seven of the US Navy to the other an 8,300 square metre the flight deck of HMAS Sydney. maintenance block which will include five hangar maintenance bays, avionics and structures shops, and non-destructive and hydraulic test capabilities. Six MH-60Rs will be transported to HMAS Albatross by RAAF-C-17 at the end of this year. All 24 will be in Australia by 2016 REGISTER NOW! ADM Cyber Security Summit 19-20 June 2014 | Canberra This year’s speaker faculty will feature presentations from renowned experts from government, industry institutions/agencies, academia and leading vendors. Some of the key topics to be addressed include: • Cyber warfare • Mitigating and preventing cyber offensives • Protecting critical cyber infrastructure • Intelligence and surveillance • Cyber terrorism • International Policy ISSUE NO. 294 | PAGE 2 ADM’s Defence Week Premium Edition – This publication is copyright and may not be reproduced in whole or part without the permission of the publisher. NEWS New Chief of Joint Operations announced The Chief of the Defence Force, General David Hurley, has announced Rear Admiral David Johnston will succeed Lieutenant General Ash Power as the Chief of Joint Operations Command. Rear Admiral Johnston will be promoted to Vice Admiral April 4 and will commence his appointment May 20, 2014. Currently posted to Navy Headquarters, Rear Admiral Johnston deployed to Operation Slipper in 2010 as the Deputy Commander Joint Task Force 633. On his return to Australia, Rear Admiral Johnston was appointed Deputy Commander Rear Admiral David Johnston will Exercise Talisman Sabre 2011 followed commence his appointment by postings as Deputy Commander Joint May 20, 2014 Operations and Commander Border Protection Command. General Hurley congratulated Rear Admiral Johnston on his appointment and thanked outgoing Chief of Joint Operations, Lieutenant General Ash Power. “Lieutenant General Power has done an outstanding job commanding all ADF operations over the past three years. He has overseen the end of Australian operations in Timor-Leste and the Solomon Islands, and most notably, the transition to Afghan National Security Forces in Uruzgan followed by the withdrawal of ADF personnel and equipment from the province,” he said. During Lieutenant General Power’s tenure the ADF also deployed humanitarian and disaster relief on Operation Yasi Assist, Queensland Flood Assist I and II, Christchurch Assist and Philippines Assist. Most recently, Lieutenant General Power has overseen Operation Southern Indian Ocean, the ADF’s contribution to the search for the missing Malaysian Airlines aircraft. ANNUAL MILITARY VEHICLES April 2014 EDITION VOL.22 No.4 COMING SOON! www.australiandefence.com.au LA ND WARFARE 2014 A DM April 2014 Milestones ahead for battlefield helicopters The challenges for Land 400 Land Warfare 2014 DMMA & ATK follow-up Hawkei nearing RFT • The challenges for Land 400 • Milestones ahead for battlefield helicopters • DMMA & ATK follow-up • Hawkei nearing RFT • President of Boeing Australia and South Pacific Ian Thomas speaks to ADM ADM Exclusive FROM THE SOURCE President of Boeing Australia and Print Post Approved 100008807 South Pacific Ian Thomas speaks to ADM ISSUE NO. 294 | PAGE 3 ADM’s Defence Week Premium Edition – This publication is copyright and may not be reproduced in whole or part without the permission of the publisher. NEWS Levett Engineering lands F-35 contract Pratt & Whitney has awarded a contract to Levett Engineering to manufacture components that will be installed into F135 engines. The F135 engine is the propulsion system for the fifth generation F-35 Lightning II aircraft. Levett Engineering, located in Elizabeth, South Australia, was previously awarded contract work to manufacture second and third-stage turbine vane tubes and covers for the F135 engine. This latest award for bearing housings, covers, and related mechanical system components has a potential value of approximately $200 million over the life of the F-35 program. The F-35 will replace Australia’s aging fourth-generation aircraft with an affordable, sustainable, and highly capable fifth-generation aircraft. The F-35 program includes partners from nine countries – Australia, Italy, Canada, Denmark, Netherlands, Norway, Turkey, UK, and US – as well as three foreign military sales customers – Israel, Japan, and South Korea. Defence interest in handheld IED detector Defence’s Capability Development Group (CDG) last month awarded a contract to NIITEK, a Chemring company, teamed with Minelab Australia, for the Rapid Prototyping, Development & Evaluation (RPDE) of the Groundshark handheld dual sensor, under CDG’s Counter Improvised Explosive Device (CIED) handheld device detector prototype program. The Groundshark Dual Sensor Handheld Detector combines NIITEK’s ground penetrating radar (GPR) and Minelab Electronics’ advanced metal detector for the identification and visualisation of subsurface metallic and non-metallic objects. The system is derived from the Husky Mounted Detection System (HMDS), currently fielded by the US Army and US Marine Corps, Canadian, Australian, Spanish, Italian, and Turkish Armies. Coupling GPR technology with Minelab’s metal detection systems has yielded a technically sound and user-friendly dual sensor handheld detector. ISSUE NO. 294 | PAGE 4 ADM’s Defence Week Premium Edition – This publication is copyright and may not be reproduced in whole or part without the permission of the publisher. NEWS Birdon aims to prioritise US expansion Tom Muir Further to our previous report on Port Macquarie marine engineer Birdon being awarded a $285 million US Army contract to supply 374 specialised bridge erection boats in the face of strong competition (including from General Dynamics), managing director Jamie Bruce said the company may prioritise expansion in the US over Australia because it is easier for small businesses to participate in defence contracts in the US, and the cost of labour is substantially cheaper. Bruce said the cost of doing business in Australia is significantly higher than the US. A good employee in Denver, where Birdon is on an $US8 million expansion and is recruiting 40 staff, costs $22 an hour, compared with $32 in Australia and that was without all the extra Australian regulation required, such as compulsory superannuation. Annual leave and workers’ compensation obligations were a lot less in the US, Bruce says.