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Company type | Subsidiary |
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Industry | Aerospace and defence |
Founded | 1953 |
Headquarters | , |
Key people |
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Number of employees | Approximately 5,500 (2024) |
Parent | BAE Systems |
Divisions | BAE Systems Maritime Australia |
Website | www.baesystems.com/en-aus/home |
BAE Systems Australia is one of the largest defence contractors in Australia. It was formed by the merger of British Aerospace Australia and GEC-Marconi Systems and expanded by the acquisitions of Armor Holdings in 2007 and Tenix Defence in June 2008. It is a subsidiary of BAE Systems.
BAE Systems' Australian heritage dates back to testing of the first generation air defence missile systems at the Woomera Test Range in the early 1950s. Weapons testing at Woomera began in 1953 by the Bristol Aeroplane Company and English Electric. Both companies merged to become the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). In 1977, BAC was nationalised and operations in Australia were renamed British Aerospace Australia.
British Aerospace Australia doubled in size in April 1996 with the purchase of AWA Defence Industries (AWADI). [1] AWADI was formed in October 1988 by the merger of the defence electronics business of AWA, Thorn EMI Electronics Australia and Fairey Australasia. [2]
BAE Systems was formed on 30 November 1999, following the merger of British Aerospace with the General Electric Company's defence arm, Marconi Electronic Systems. BAE Systems Australia expanded with its parent company's acquisition of Armor Holdings in 2007 and doubled in size with the purchase of Tenix Defence in June 2008.
BAE Systems Australia provides many products and services to the Australian Defence Force (ADF) including: Fast Jet support, Military Flight Training, Autonomous Systems, Guided Weapons (naval air defence) and Communications, Command & Support.
BAE Systems Australia operates two business units: Aerospace and Maritime & Integrated Systems (M&IS). [3]
BAE Systems inherited the Canberra-class landing helicopter dock project from Tenix Defence.
On 22 October 2008, BAE Systems was selected to continue with the Royal Australian Navy's Guided Missile Frigate Maintenance Contract (FFG IMS). BAE Systems replaced the existing company Thales Australia on 1 January 2009. This contract is expected to run until the last guided missile frigate (HMAS Newcastle) is decommissioned in 2021.
BAE Systems' bid for work on the Hobart-class destroyers was rejected in May 2009, when the Air Warfare Destroyer Alliance subcontracted 70% of construction of the destroyers to NQEA and the Forgacs Marine & Defence. [4] However, on 29 June 2009, the work allocated to NQEA was transferred to BAE Systems Australia due to the former being unable to meet its financial obligations to the project. [5] [6] BAE Systems will build a total of 36 blocks for the three destroyers at Williamstown Dockyard. These are the hull machinery compartments, and bow and stern sections of the ships. [7]
BAE Systems was announced on 29 June 2018 as the preferred tenderer to build the Hunter-class frigates, through ASC Shipbuilding and building the nine ships in South Australia. [8] [9]
ASC Shipbuilding was acquired by BAE Systems in December 2018, and renamed to BAE Systems Maritime Australia in 2021. [10]
BAE Systems, along with several other defence contractors, is developing the MQ-28 Ghost Bat. They have also showcased the STRIX VSTOL drone at the Australian International Airshow. [11] [12]
BAE Systems Australia is headquartered at Adelaide, South Australia. As of 19 November 2015 [update] the company employs approximately 5,500 people Australia-wide. [13] BAE Systems Australia's partner charity since 2015 is Soldier On with whom they work to support the health, employment and rehabilitation of Australia's veterans, service personnel and their families. [14]
British Aerospace plc (BAe) was a British aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer that was formed in 1977. Its head office was at Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire. It purchased Marconi Electronic Systems, the defence electronics and naval shipbuilding subsidiary of the General Electric Company, in 1999 to form BAE Systems.
Marconi Electronic Systems (MES), or GEC-Marconi as it was until 1998, was the defence arm of General Electric Company (GEC). It was demerged from GEC and bought by British Aerospace (BAe) on 30 November 1999 to form BAE Systems. GEC then renamed itself Marconi plc.
BAE Systems plc is a British multinational aerospace, defence and information security company, based in London, England. It is the biggest manufacturer in Britain as of 2017. It is the largest defence contractor in Europe and the seventh-largest in the world based on applicable 2021 revenues. Its largest operations are in the United Kingdom and in the United States, where its BAE Systems Inc. subsidiary is one of the six largest suppliers to the US Department of Defense. Its next biggest markets are Saudi Arabia, then Australia; other major markets include Canada, Japan, India, Turkey, Qatar, Oman and Sweden. The company was formed on 30 November 1999 by the £7.7 billion purchase of and merger of Marconi Electronic Systems (MES), the defence electronics and naval shipbuilding subsidiary of the General Electric Company plc (GEC), with British Aerospace, an aircraft, munitions and naval systems manufacturer.
Thales Australia is a defence contractor based in Australia. It is a subsidiary of the French defence technology conglomerate Thales Group.
Nulka is an Australian-designed and -developed active missile decoy built by an American/Australian collaboration. Used aboard warships of the United States Navy (USN), Royal Australian Navy (RAN), United States Coast Guard (USCG), and Royal Canadian Navy, Nulka is a rocket-propelled, disposable, offboard, active decoy designed to lure anti-ship missiles away from their targets. It has a unique design in that it hovers in mid-air while drawing the incoming anti-ship missile. The hovering rocket concept was initiated in Australia by the Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO), and the system was designed, developed and then manufactured by AWA Defence Industries (AWADI). BAE refers to Nulka as a "soft-kill defence system". The word "Nulka" is of Australian Aboriginal origin and means "be quick".
The Hobart class is a ship class of three air warfare destroyers (AWDs) built for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Planning for ships to replace the Adelaide-class frigates and restore the capability last exhibited by the Perth-class destroyers began by 2000, initially under acquisition project SEA 1400, which was re-designated SEA 4000. Although the designation "Air Warfare Destroyer" is used to describe ships dedicated to the defence of a naval force from aircraft and missile attack, the destroyers are expected to also operate in anti-surface, anti-submarine, and naval gunfire support roles.
The Royal Australian Navy, although a significant force in the Asia-Pacific region, is nonetheless classed as a medium-sized navy. Its fleet is based around two main types of surface combatant, with limited global deployment and air power capability. However, in 2009, a white paper, Defending Australia in the Asia Pacific Century: Force 2030, was produced by the Australian government which set out a programme of defence spending that will see significant improvements to the RAN's fleet and capabilities. In recent times, Australia released its Surface Fleet Review in 2024, which analyses the future of the RAN and shows what the Government will procure.
ASC Pty Ltd, formerly the Australian Submarine Corporation, is an Australian government business enterprise involved with Australian naval shipbuilding, headquartered in Osborne, South Australia. It is notable for the construction and maintenance of the Collins-class submarine fleet operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and the construction of three Hobart-class destroyers for the RAN with the first delivered in mid-2017.
Tenix is a privately owned Australian company involved in a range of infrastructure maintenance and engineering products and services to the utility, transport, mining and industrial sectors in Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific Islands, and the United States.
Tenix Defence was Australia's largest defence contractor with core capabilities in Aerospace, Land, Marine and Electronic Systems applications. BAE Systems announced its intention to acquire the company from Tenix in January 2008 and the acquisition was completed in June 2008 for A$775 million. BAE Systems Australia thus became Australia's largest defence contractor.
HMAS Hobart, named after the city of Hobart, Tasmania, is the lead ship of the Hobart-class air warfare destroyers used by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The ship, based on the Álvaro de Bazán-class frigate designed by Navantia, was built at ASC's shipyard in Osborne, South Australia from modules fabricated by ASC, BAE Systems Australia in Victoria, and Forgacs Group in New South Wales. Hobart was ordered in 2007, but errors and delays in construction caused extensive schedule slippage. Despite commissioning initially planned for December 2014, the ship was not laid down until September 2012, and launched in May 2015. The Department of Defence accepted delivery of HMAS Hobart on 16 June 2017. The ship was commissioned on 23 September 2017.
Forgacs Marine and Defence, previously Forgacs Group and also simply known as Forgacs, is a major Australian engineering and shipbuilding company. It has facilities in Newcastle, Sydney, Brisbane and Gladstone. The company employs approximately 1000 people.
The Type 31 frigate, also known as the Inspiration class, and formerly known as the Type 31e frigate or General Purpose Frigate (GPF), is a class of five frigates being built for the United Kingdom's Royal Navy, with variants also being built for the Indonesian and Polish navies. The Type 31 is intended to enter service in the 2020s alongside the eight submarine-hunting Type 26 frigate and will replace the five general-purpose Type 23 frigates. The Type 31 is part of the British government's "National Shipbuilding Strategy".
Raytheon Australia is the Australian arm of Raytheon Technologies. It was established in 1999 and has grown to become the largest US owned defence contractor operating in Australia. In 2012 Raytheon Australia recorded a turnover of $735.5 million. In 2015, Raytheon Australian was ranked fourth in Australian Defence Magazine's "Top 40 Defence Contractors" behind Thales Australia, ASC and BAE Systems Australia. As of 2016, the company's Managing Director is Michael Ward until May 30, 2024.
The Hunter-class frigate is an under construction class of six heavy frigates for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) to replace the Anzac class.
ASC Shipbuilding, formerly the shipbuilding division of ASC Pty Ltd, is a subsidiary of BAE Systems Australia and will remain a subsidiary for the duration of the contract to build the Hunter class frigates. It was structurally separated from ASC Pty Ltd in December 2018 and became a subsidiary of BAE Systems Australia. In 2021 it was renamed as BAE Systems Maritime Australia.
HMAS Sydney, named after the city of Sydney, New South Wales, is the third and final ship of the Hobart–class air warfare destroyers used by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).
The Type 83 destroyer is a proposed class of guided-missile destroyers which is planned to enter service with the United Kingdom's Royal Navy in the mid-to-late 2030s. It is being developed as a direct replacement for the current flotilla of six Type 45 destroyers.