[LINK] Aussie defence satellite system

[Stephen Loosley]

Lockheed wins race for Australia’s biggest space tender

“An Australian defence satellite communication system, known as Joint Project 9102, for the Indo-Pacific ocean regions.”

by AAP | April 3, 2023 11:45 | News
https://michaelwest.com.au/lockheed-wins-race-for-australias-biggest-space-tender/

Lockheed Martin has beaten Airbus in the race for Australia’s biggest space tender to build the country’s first sovereign military satellites to combat new threats in space.

Defence on Monday announced Lockheed Martin Australia as the preferred tenderer for the new Australian defence satellite communication system, known as Joint Project 9102, for the Indo-Pacific ocean regions.

Head of Air Defence and Space Systems Division Air Vice-Marshal David Scheul said the multi-billion dollar project would deliver Australia’s first sovereign-controlled satellite communication system.

As space becomes a future theatre of war and data super-highway, dozens of defence capabilities already depend on satellite communications.

“Once delivered, the new system will increase the resilience, agility and flexibility of defence’s military satellite capability,” Air Vice-Marshal Scheul said.

Expected to cost $3 to 4 billion, the new satellite communication system will include new communications satellites, multiple ground stations across Australia, a communications management system and two new satellite communications operations centres.

Lockheed Martin Australia, one of the five bidders, last month announced it would set up a space engineering and technical hub in Victoria if it won the bid.

Defence said it looked forward to working with Lockheed Martin Australia to deliver this important capability to the defence force.

The company will progress to the next stage of the defence procurement process to fine tune the tender details.