PRIME MINISTER:
It is excellent to be here at Royal Australian Air Force Base Edinburgh to confirm that the Commonwealth of Australia will be purchasing the Triton unmanned surveillance aircraft. This is a very important purchase that will dramatically add to our surveillance capability in the years and decades to come. It will complement the additional surveillance capability that will be given to us by the Poseidon aircraft whose purchase I announced some weeks ago.
In addition to confirming that Australia will go ahead with the Triton purchase, today I can also confirm that associated with the Triton purchase there will be some $100 million worth of works in and around RAAF Base Edinburgh which will be good for the South Australian economy. I can also confirm that we will be doing an additional $78 million worth of work with British Aerospace BAE, some of which at least will be here in South Australia.
So, while this is fundamentally a defence announcement rather than an economic announcement, nevertheless there are important economic spinoffs for the great state of South Australia and I’m pleased to have my senior South Australian colleague, Christopher Pyne, with us today for this announcement.
I want to stress, particularly to the men and women of the Royal Australian Air Force, who are here with us today, that this is a Government which will give our armed forces the equipment that you need to do your job. You keep us safe. You put your lives on the line for our country. It is important that you receive the support that you need from a grateful nation and a key part of the support that a grateful nation gives its men and women in uniform is the right equipment to do your job, the right equipment to maintain an edge over potential adversaries wherever we find them.
So, this is an important announcement today and I look forward to this new generation of surveillance aircraft that will maintain our effectiveness as a significant military power in our region and in the wider world.
I am delighted to be joined today by the Chief of Air Force who I understand wishes to add to these remarks.
AIR MARSHAL GEOFF BROWN AO:
Prime Minister, I’m absolutely delighted with the decision today to select the Triton as our future unmanned aerial system. Unmanned aerial systems are pivotal to the RAAF’s ability to deliver the air power effects that we need.
It’s interesting from a historical point of view, it isn’t actually the first time that the Air Force has operated remotely piloted air vehicles. In fact, here in South Australia back in 1952 we first flew the Jindivik, but this is a far more sophisticated and capable platform.
The Air Force has identified the need for UAVs in Afghanistan and we’ve operated the Heron there for a number of years. It continues to give great service to the men and women in Afghanistan and the Triton will revolutionise the way that we actually do maritime surveillance in that area. Its sensor sweep and the performance will allow the detection and identification of a large number of surface targets. The combination of the P-8 and Triton will provide a far better maritime patrol and response capability than we have at this time.
The mix of manned and unmanned platforms is really a lot greater than the sum of the parts and will actually support the Royal Australian Navy and its taskforces throughout the region.
In future, in South Australia, you’ll see Tritons and P-8s flying as much as you see the P-3 these days and with that, I’d like to hand over to Ian Irving from Northrop Grumman.
IAN IRVING:
Thanks Geoff, Prime Minister.
Northrop Grumman is really proud to be associated with this announcement today and I’d like to thank the Prime Minister and Chief of Air Force for the opportunity to speak.
The high altitude long endurance unmanned aerial vehicle system that you see behind me in the Tritons is really one of the most exciting innovations of this century. We see this technology as really a perfect fit for Australia. Its ability to cover vast land and maritime areas will be a valuable complement to the P-8 and in its own right is a tremendous and advanced surveillance capability.
But the arrival of this technology in Australia will also have huge implications for other areas, not the least of which is local industry. Australia is a country of innovators and we see the applications of this technology way beyond just defence, into areas of environmental monitoring, humanitarian relief, search and rescue and disaster relief operations.
The AIR 7000 programme will provide opportunities for local industry across a broad area of capability. Under the Future Acquisition programme, we’ll be looking at opportunities for local industry in the supply chain for advanced manufacturing of components, the development of operational ground infrastructure and the establishment of support and maintenance capabilities.
The introduction of the aircraft in to service will provide opportunities for MRO, for aircraft, operational and sustainment workforce requirements and the opportunity for local industry to get involved in block upgrades and capability advancements.
We’re really enthusiastic about helping to build Australian industries’ capabilities and strengths to meet this new need. We’ll be working with universities and innovative companies both here in South Australia and across the nation to identify those opportunities and develop new applications for this exciting technology.
Northrop Grumman is really committed to working with local industry to those ends and we already have relationships with a number of local firms as part of our global supply chain capabilities for our programmes here in Australia and across the globe.
In 2001 when the predecessor to Triton, the RQ-4 Global Hawk, made the Guinness Book of Records by flying autonomously from Edwards Air Force Base to this very location, it was done thanks to a partnership between the RAAF, the United States Air Force, DARPA, the DSTO and also Grumman and since that time Australia has played a very important role in partnership with the United States Navy in bringing this innovation to maturity.
But tomorrow’s innovation really starts with the youth of today and Northrop Grumman is very proud to be working with high school students across Australia as part of the UAV Outback Challenge and by sponsoring and mentoring these bright kids in UAV technologies we’re helping to motivate them and stimulate them to be Australia’s future engineers, scientists and technicians.
We’re very excited to be part of the RAAF’s transformation into the 21st-century air force and we’re looking very much forward to working with the Chief of Air Force, the Department of Defence and the Australian Government to bring this capability to fruition.
[ends]