Boeing gets approval and manufactures aircraft parts locally

Boeing Defence Australia (BDA) has received Military Production Organisation Approval (MPOA) from the Defence Aviation Safety Authority (DASA) for the local manufacture of aerospace parts and components.

The approval will speed up parts availability for Australian Defence Force (ADF) aircraft while driving down overall sustainment costs.

The MPOA permits BDA to bulk produce a range of aerospace-grade items including avionics, electrical and mechanical appliances; electrical, wiring and structural harness parts; and military display equipment, communication systems and components for ADF aircraft.

BDA is the fourth Australian company to receive a MPOA.

The managing director, Boeing Defence Australia Amy List said: “This authority builds greater self-reliance into Australia’s defence industry and will improve the availability of our military aircraft through faster, more cost-effective methods of parts production.

“It’s a compelling endorsement of the quality of our production systems and our commitment to identifying ways of strengthening Australia’s sovereign military aircraft maintenance, repair, overhaul and upgrade capability.”

The first part to be manufactured under the authorisation — a plastic wire guard for a Royal Australian Air Force F/A-18F Super Hornet — was recently produced by BDA’s team at RAAF Base Amberley.

The approval, which is provided under Defence Aviation Safety Regulation 21 Subpart G, can support all ADF aircraft types sustained by BDA: the E-7A Wedgetails, P-8A Poseidons, C-17A Globemasters, F/A-18F Super Hornets, EA-18G Growlers, CH-47F Chinooks, EC135-T2+ helicopters and the future AH-64E Apache.

Picture: Boeing/Australian F/A-18F Super Hornet