Australian Defence Business Review

Uninhabited Aerial Vehicles and loitering munitions are increasingly being used in the suppression/destruction of enemy air defence battle. Air launched anti-radiation missiles with a loitering capability were deployed by the Royal Air Force during the Cold War, but the utility and availability of lower cost loitering munitions is making them increasingly attractive for the contemporary S/DEAD fight.

The Defence Strategic Review’s recommendations for Australian air power should be a viewed as an endorsement of Australia’s air arm, rather than cause for concern. The recommendations were sensible but unspectacular, especially compared to the fundamental reorientation of the Army’s land combat capability and reset of the Navy’s surface fleet.

Raytheon has been awarded a US$650.4m (A$975m) contract by the US Navy for a low rate initial production (LRIP) batch of 15 AN/ALQ-249(V1) Next Generation Jammer (NGJ) Mid-Band (MB) pod shipsets for the US Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The contract covers 15 shipsets, each of which comprises two pods, with 11 shipsets destined for the US Navy, and four for the RAAF.

Boeing has been awarded a US$1.946bn (A$2.90bn) contract for the procurement of up to 184 Boeing AH-64E Apache Guardian attack helicopters, including 29 machines for the Australian Army. The Apache was confirmed as the preferred solution for Project LAND 4503 to replace the Airbus Tiger ARH in service, ahead of the Bell AH-1Z Viper. The sale was approved by the US State Department in June 2021, and the former LNP-led government confirmed the sale had been “finalised” in May 2022.

A new Boeing EA-18G Growler has been delivered to RAAF Amberley, boosting availability and returning the RAAF’s electronic attack aircraft fleet to a full complement. The aircraft was acquired as an attrition aircraft to replace one extensively damaged and subsequently written off in a take-off accident at Nellis AFB in January 2018. The planned acquisition of a replacement aircraft was announced in September 2021.

The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has successfully conducted a series of test flights on a converted Lockheed Martin F-16D fitted with a flight control system (FCS) that uses artificial intelligence (AI) software. The former NF-16D – rebadged in 2021 with the X-62A designation – is operated by the USAF Test Pilot School at Edwards AFB in California.

ADF newsAIRCYBER & EWHeadlinesIndustry NewsJOINTLANDProject newsSEASustainment NewsTraining Kongsberg Defence Australia (KDA) has signed a five-year agreement with prime contractor Raytheon Australia to provide sustainment services for the Australian Army’s Project LAND 19 Phase 7B Short-Range Ground-Based Air Defence system (SRGBAD).

The Commonwealth has announced an upgrade to the Royal Australian Air Force’s electronic attack capabilities through funding for a number of key enablers for the Boeing EA-18G Growler.

The Canadian government has announced it has agreed to terms with Lockheed Martin and Pratt & Whitney for the acquisition of 88 F-35A Lightning II fighters to meet its Future Fighter Capability Project requirement. The C$19bn (A$20.3bn) agreement confirms Canada’s March 2022 announcement of its selection of the F-35A over the competing Saab JAS-39E/F Gripen to replace its ageing fleet of McDonnell Douglas CF-18A/B Hornets and up to 25 former RAAF F/A-18A/B Hornets.

ADF newsAIRAllies NewsHeadlinesIndustry NewsJOINTLANDPolicy newsProject newsRegional NewsSEA The Commonwealth government has announced that it will acquire the Lockheed Martin M142 HIMARS long-range artillery system, and that it has signed a contract with KONGSBERG to acquire the Naval Strike Missile (NSM).