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Raytheon Australia has successfully completed the delivery of a new long-range missile test range capability, providing a sovereign system for the Royal Australian Air Force at the Woomera Test Range.
Spanning around 122,000 square kilometres, making it the largest land-based test range in the Western world, the Woomera range is central to Australia’s defence testing, supporting everything from missile trials to space launch and re-entry activities. Now, new systems developed by Raytheon Australia are expanding its reach and effectiveness.
Engineering lead Jack Svetlichny said the focus has been on enhancing sovereign capability for the Australian Defence Force, particularly in enabling more complex and longer-range trials.
At the centre of the upgrade are two newly developed systems: a Telemetry and Flight Termination System Pod (TMFTSPOD) and a Terminal Area Telemetry (TATM) system. These are being delivered alongside the Long-Range Deployable Telemetry Monitoring and Flight Termination Systems (LRD), which provide real-time tracking, data collection and secure flight termination for missiles during testing.
The new systems allow telemetry data to be transmitted and received over significantly greater distances, expanding the test envelope and enabling more flexible operations in remote environments.
The TATM system, designed to meet requirements set by the Royal Australian Air Force Air Warfare Centre, can be deployed near target areas, improving data capture and tracking accuracy during trials.
Meanwhile, the TMFTSPOD is fitted to aircraft used in Joint Adversarial Training and Testing, allowing crews to simulate real-world missile telemetry and flight termination scenarios for both training and system validation.
“Telemetry is an evolving capability and it’s exciting to see these systems now in action,” Svetlichny said. “They significantly strengthen our ability to support Defence’s testing and training needs.”
The systems were delivered in just 30 months and are among the first completed under Defence’s streamlined acquisition process led by the Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group.
Project manager Grace Kungel said the program had successfully passed factory and system acceptance testing across multiple sites in Australia, with flight certification for the pod completed in partnership with the Civil Aviation Safety Authority.
Testing demonstrated the systems’ ability to track missiles, securely transmit telemetry data and execute flight termination commands, critical functions for ensuring safe and controlled trials.
Telemetry specialist Ben Hennessy described the LRD as one of the most advanced deployable systems of its kind globally, capable of providing continuous overland coverage at extended ranges.
Defence leaders said the capability aligns with priorities outlined in the National Defence Strategy, particularly the need to support long-range strike and advanced weapons development.
Managing director Ohad Katz said reliable testing is essential as Defence systems become more sophisticated and operate over greater distances, saying, “This capability ensures Australia can safely and effectively test next-generation systems while maintaining control and flexibility in remote environments.”
The new telemetry systems are expected to underpin future missile trials at Woomera and play a key role in strengthening Australia’s sovereign defence testing capabilities.
Stephen Kuper
Steve has an extensive career across government, defence industry and advocacy, having previously worked for cabinet ministers at both Federal and State levels.
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