Lockheed Martin invests $74m in missile defence

Lockheed Martin Australia will invest $74 million to establish a National Integrated Air and Missile Defence (IAMD) Ecosystem, helping integrate Australian industry into global supply chains.

As part of its proposal to secure contracts to supply the AIR6500 Joint Air Battle Management System (JABMS) to Defence, the ‘National IAMD Ecosystem’ will position Australia for a role in the IAMD global supply chain.

It will bring government, industry and academia together to create, enhance and maintain capability, to gain access, bring technology and contribute for the next several decades.

LMA’s chief executive, Australia and New Zealand Warren McDonald said: “In today’s strategic environment, IAMD is a critical capability and Australian industry is well-placed to be on the leading edge of global innovation and development.

“IAMD is a mission that spans all services and requires a high degree of integration to be effective.

“It is bigger than any one project, and the Ecosystem is a mechanism that will provide the enduring aspect of Australian Industry Capability (AIC) that is so often elusive.”

LMA said that accelerating workforce skilling and collaboration at a national level will create world-leading capabilities that generate Australian economic benefit, jobs and export opportunities. comes into play.

“As one of the leading IAMD companies in Australia, Lockheed Martin has a responsibility to uplift industry and help build the workforce of the future. We have more than 200 skilled IAMD professionals on staff today across a range of ADF projects.

“By fostering closer collaboration across industry, academia and government we can create a force multiplying effect by bringing the brightest minds from across the nation to bolster national security through sovereign self-sufficiency.

“In the process it will solidify Australia’s role as a competitive provider of key capabilities that coalition partners will need going forward.”

Lockheed Martin Australia’s investment will focus in two primary areas: a National IAMD Centre that will serve as a physical hub of the Ecosystem, and an R&D pipeline that will facilitate sovereign innovation through SMEs and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) activities.

Picture: Lockheed Martin Australia/air6500 team