Australia Moves On Growler

Australia Moves On Growler

The Australian government is moving forward with plans to upgrade its F/A-18E/F fleet with Growler electronic-attack equipment.

The military already has taken 12 of its 24 aircraft wired for the electronic-attack system and now is laying the groundwork to equip them for the EA-18G role, although the final decision to do so will not come until later this year, says Defense Minister Stephen Smith.

At this point, Australia is committing to A$19 million ($19.7 million) in long-lead items, a move necessary to keep the Northrop Grumman production line open with the U.S. program slowly coming to an end. The initial commitment is for six kits, with options for six more.

As to the long-term procurement, which would come in the form of a foreign military sales contract, Smith notes “we are in the process of doing that exhaustive assessment, both in terms of the capability, the cost and how it matches other competing priorities and those judgments and decisions will be made in the course of this year.”

Australian officials say their interest in the capability was underscored by the U.S. Navy experience with the EA-18G in Libya. “It lowers risk for everybody in the battle space and I’m continuing to move forward with the capability and hope that we can actually fit it within the budget space,” says Royal Australian Air Force Chief Geoff Brown.

The deal would mark the first export of the EA-18G but also more generally of that type of capability. The U.S. never authorized the release of the EA-6B Prowler.

Meanwhile, Smith has faced pressure from the opposition to move forward on buying Global Hawk unmanned aircraft for maritime surveillance, but says he wants to continue to hold off. “The United States is developing a Global Hawk for maritime surveillance but it is currently not yet in existence. So I don’t know that it’s a sensible thing to do to immediately purchase something which has not yet been developed,” he tells reporters.

Australia Bars Huawei From Broadband Project

Australia Bars Huawei From Broadband Project

Australia has blocked Huawei Technologies of China from bidding on contracts in the $38 billion Australian National Broadband Network, citing security concerns, Huawei said Monday.

“We were informed by the government that there is no role for Huawei” in the network, said Jeremy Mitchell, a spokesman in Australia for Huawei, one of the world’s largest suppliers of telecommunications equipment.

The Australian plan is the largest infrastructure project in the country’s history. It is intended to connect 93 percent of homes and workplaces with fiber-optic cable, providing broadband service in urban and rural areas.

It was announced in 2009 by the Australian government with a committed investment of as much as $38 billion. The network is expected to be ready by 2020.

The Australian Financial Review newspaper said in a report Monday that Huawei had sought to secure a supply contract worth as much as 1 billion Australian dollars, or $1.05 billion, as part of the project, but had been blocked by the Australian attorney general on the basis of advice from the Australian Security Intelligence Organization.

The office of the attorney general said in a news release, “This is consistent with the government’s practice for ensuring the security and resilience of Australia’s critical infrastructure more broadly.”

The network is “a strategic and significant government investment,” the attorney general’s office told Bloomberg News. “We have a responsibility to do our utmost to protect its integrity and that of the information carried on it.”

The government declined to comment on its specific discussions with companies, which are confidential, the office said.

The security agency declined to comment on the report.

On the sidelines of a nuclear security summit meeting in South Korea, Prime Minister Julia Gillard of Australia said the government had made the correct decision.

“You would expect as a government that we make all of the prudent decisions to make sure that the infrastructure project does what we want it to do, and we’ve taken one of those decisions,” she said.

Huawei was founded by its chief executive, Ren Zhengfei, a former officer of the People’s Liberation Army in China. That has led to claims that it has too cozy a relationship with the Chinese government.

The company. based in Shenzhen, China, has been struggling to expand its business in the United States, which has blocked its equipment deals, citing national security concerns and allegations that Huawei had violated sanctions by supplying Iran with banned equipment.

“While we’re obviously disappointed by the decision,” the company said, referring to the Australian rejection, “Huawei will continue to be open and transparent and work to find ways of providing assurance around the security of our technology.”

Mr. Mitchell told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.: “We have never been told by the Chinese government to do a certain thing. If we would, that would be to our detriment, and we would lose the market share that we have.”

A former Australian foreign minister, Alexander Downer, who is an independent director on the board of Huawei’s Australian unit, rejected the government’s security concerns.

“This sort of whole concept of Huawei being involved in cyberwarfare, presumably that would just be based on the fact that the company comes from China,” he said on ABC Radio on Monday. “This is just completely absurd.”

Mr. Mitchell told Bloomberg that “the bar is set higher” for the company because of where it is from.

He said Huawei was working on eight broadband networks similar to the Australian plan in Benin, Britain, Brunei, Cameroon, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates.

Raytheon to provide sonar for Australia's MH-60Rs

Raytheon to provide sonar for Australia's MH-60Rs

The Raytheon AN/AQS-22 airborne low frequency sonar (ALFS) has been chosen as the primary undersea warfare sensor for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN)'s planned fleet of 24 Lockheed Martin MH-60R naval combat helicopters.

The US Navy awarded the $80.8 million contract under the auspices of the US government's Foreign Military Sales programme, Raytheon said in a statement.

The contract is the first overseas sale of the system, it added.

"ALFS is a key tenet of our naval strategy, providing us a robust, rapid and far-reaching anti-submarine warfare capability," said US Navy captain Jim Glass, project manager for the MH-60. "Now with the sale to Australia we are providing our airborne ASW sensor of choice to advance the capabilities of a valued, allied fleet."

In June 2011, Australia signed a A$3 billion ($3.1 million) deal for 24 MH-60Rs to fill Australia's Air 9000 requirement. Two will arrive in mid-2014 for testing, with operations to commence in 2015. With 24 aircraft, the RAN will be able to provide eight warships with a helicopter at the same time.

The MH-60R will replace the RAN's 16 Sikorsky S-70B Seahawks.

Australia receives 15th MRH90 helicopter

Australia receives 15th MRH90 helicopter

Australian Aerospace has delivered the 15th NH Industries MRH90 multi-role helicopter to the Australian defence force after signing a remediation agreement with the Australian government for the programme.

Australian Aerospace, the local unit of Eurocopter, said it has signed a deed of agreement with Canberra. The document includes a "remediation plan" that will address issues with the programme, particularly an engine failure suffered by an MRH90 and cooler fan issues.

The agreement was signed on 23 November, after which the 14th and 15th MRH90s were delivered.

On 29 November, Canberra added the MRH90 to its Projects of Concern list because of "significant technical issues".

The project is running late, primarily due to technical issues affecting the aircraft," Minister of Defence Materiel Jason Clare said in a statement.

"The project has suffered delays of some two years to date. There remains a risk that the programme will be further delayed," Clare said.

The programme underwent separate reviews in April and September. After the April review, prime contractor Australian Aerospace agreed to a remediation strategy.

However, after the September review Clare said the project was still suffering from "significant" technical issues. "These have now triggered earlier indicators and warning thresholds for schedule and contractor performance," he said.

Australia is obtaining 46 MRH90s under its AIR 9000 phase two, four and six programmes to replace the army's Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawks and the navy's Westland Sea Kings.

Australian navy's Sea Kings make final flight

The Royal Australian Navy is retiring its Westland Sea King helicopters after 35 years of service.

The nation's last Sea King formation departed the Naval Air Station at HMAS Albatross in Nowra for Sydney, where they over flew the harbour. They then flew on to Canberra before returning to the coast.

"We call them the Mack trucks of the skies," said Paul Moggach, commanding officer of the 817 squadron and leader of the farewell formation. "The Sea Kings are a very capable aircraft that has served Australia well."

The Sea King is being replaced by the NH Industries MRH90.

PICTURES: Mass flypast marks completion of Australian Super Hornet deliveries

PICTURES: Mass flypast marks completion of Australian Super Hornet deliveries

Boeing has completed deliveries of 24 F/A-18F Super Hornet Block II combat aircraft to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), with the last four examples having been welcomed during a 21 October ceremony at Amberley air base, Queensland.

The new arrivals joined 16 of the air force's in-service aircraft for a historic flypast, which the service described as having also presented "an important training exercise for operational planners and aircrew".

Boeing handed over Australia's first five Super Hornets in March 2010, and said delivery of all 24 aircraft was completed ahead of time and under budget.

Nicknamed "Rhinos", the fleet was transferred in five batches from the USA, having been completed at the manufacturer's St Louis production facility in Missouri.

Acquired as a stop-gap replacement to cover the period between the retirement of the RAAF's last General Dynamics F-111s in 2010 and the availability of its future Lockheed Martin F-35A Joint Strike Fighters, the Super Hornet is "proving to be invaluable as a true force multiplier", said Group Capt Steve Roberton, officer commanding the service's 82 Wing.

Australia's two-seat F/A-18Fs are assigned to the air force's 1 and 6 squadrons at Amberley.

Australia mulling to buy sixth C-17A Globemaster

Australia mulling to buy sixth C-17A Globemaster

Australia is considering to acquire another C-17A Globemaster heavy-lift aircraft from the US, the country’s Defence Minister has said.

A letter of intent has been sent to the US to acquire the sixth aircraft of the series through the Foreign Military Sales programme, Defence Minister Stephen Smith announced at the Amberley Air Force base on Friday marking the arrival of the fifth airlifter of Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).

“A sixth C-17 would give the Governemnt increased options to support a wider range of contingencies that might require heavy-lift aircraft. Advice from Defence is that a sixth aircraft would double the number of C-17A aircraft available for operations at any one time compared to four aircraft,” Smith said.

The RAAF has received five Globemasters from Boeing between 2006 and 2011. The first airlifter was operational in 2007.

Acquisition of the fifth aircraft was announced in March 2011.

The C-17 can transport large payloads across vast ranges, land on short, austere runways, and operate in extreme climates. It is the only airlifter that possesses both tactical and strategic capabilities.

The US Foreign Military Sale allows the RAAF to expand its C-17 fleet as it faces an increased demand for humanitarian and disaster relief missions.