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QinetiQ Australia has joined the Lockheed Martin Australia-led bid for the AIR 6500 program, agreeing to provide test and evaluation, verification and validation, certification and assurance services to support the development of a Joint Air Battle Management System solution.
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As part of the agreement, the companies will work together to develop test and evaluation and governance frameworks to reduce risk ahead of AIR 6500-1.
Valued at an estimated $2.7 billion, the Joint Air Battle Management System (JABMS) is intended to bolster situational awareness of air and missile threats via defence’s future Integrated Air and Missile Defence (IAMD) system.
The final decision on the program is expected to be announced in 2023.
“Lockheed Martin Australia is delighted to team with QinetiQ Australia,” Steve Froelich, AIR 6500 program executive at Lockheed Martin Australia, said.
“The teaming agreement marks an important focus on designing a highly robust, independently validated, agile AIR 6500-1 program solution that supports the Royal Australian Air Force’s vision to transform the Air Force into a next-gen-enabled force.
“Lockheed Martin Australia’s proven expertise in building, integrating and sustaining advanced technology systems across complex joint all-domain platforms combined with QinetiQ Australia’s unrivalled expertise in integrated air and missile defence test, evaluation, certification and systems assurance, means we are the trusted partner of choice to deliver an unmatched integrated air battle management capability edge to Australia.”
Greg Barsby, managing director at QinetiQ Australia, explained that the local workforce will leverage QinetiQ’s pedigree in test and evaluation to develop sovereign solutions for the AIR 6500 project.
“Our highly experienced local team of T&E professionals have been able to leverage QinetiQ’s global expertise in complex test and evaluation, to deliver world-leading solutions while growing sovereign T&E capabilities in Australia. We look forward to collaborating on an innovative test and evaluation solution that leverages the digital age we are now immersed in,” Barsby said.
“Lockheed Martin Australia has a distinguished history of delivering to the Australian Defence customer and collaborating with defence industry. I am delighted QinetiQ is teamed with Lockheed Martin as the sovereign Test and Evaluation service provider and look forward to delivering a state-of-the-art solution to the AIR 6500 program.”
The recent down selection of Lockheed Martin Australia and Northrop Grumman Australia for the JABMS program followed extensive stakeholder engagement via defence’s tender process, which involved an assessment of the respective integrated air and missile defence offerings proposed by the contenders.
The two shortlisted primes edged ahead of Boeing Defence Australia and Raytheon Australia, who also nominated for the first phase of the competitive evaluation process. Minister for Defence Peter Dutton explained that the JABMS will connect the ADF’s warfighting domains, enhancing their joint defensive capabilities.
“Through the competitive evaluation process, Australian industry has demonstrated its versatility and adaptability to provide innovative proposals in the challenging field of integrated air and missile defence,” Minister Dutton said.
[Related: Lockheed Martin Australia, Leidos Australia pair up for AIR 6500]
