Industry: Northrop Grumman Announces $AUD 50 Million Investment in Electronic Sustainment for the Commonwealth of Australia

SYDNEY– May 15, 2017 – Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) is making a $AUD 50 million investment to develop an advanced defence electronics maintenance and sustainment centre located in Western Sydney. The centre will ultimately be located at the Badgerys Creek precinct, where Northrop Grumman will be the anchor tenant for an advanced aerospace and defence industries precinct.

Over the coming decades, Australia will require defence solutions that are more sophisticated and increasingly reliant upon complex electronic systems. Northrop Grumman’s investment will establish an Electronic Sustainment Centre of Excellence (ESCE) to support this effort and sustain mission-readiness capabilities within the Commonwealth.

“Northrop Grumman is deeply committed to Australia. This investment in a new centre of excellence is the next step in our partnership with the Australian Defence Force [ADF], helping to ensure regional security and mission success,” said Ian Irving, chief executive, Northrop Grumman Australia. “We are excited to enable the Commonwealth to sustain these next-generation capabilities locally.”

Think Tank: Sea, air, land and space updates (2-May-2017)

Image: Flickr User - James Good

Zoe Glasson, Sophie Qin, Madeleine Nyst and Patrick Kennedy

Sea State

How many sheep does it take to sink a Russian naval ship? Turns out, about 9,000. The “research ship” (read: intelligence collection vessel) Liman was sunk in the Black Sea on Thursday after a collision with a merchant freighter carrying sheep. All 78 Russian crew members were rescued by the Turkish Coast Guard and the Togo-flagged Youzarsif-H suffered only minimal damage. The accident occurred about 30km northwest of the mouth of the Bosphorus, which was closed due to poor visibility. Currently the only route to the Mediterranean from Russia’s Black Sea bases, the oft-choked strategic entry-point is considered to be driving Russia’s active search for ‘military bases along the Mediterranean’.

China’s Defence Ministry seemingly turned a PR blunder into a PR save last week, after posting a poorly photoshopped image on their Weibo and WeChat accounts to mark the PLAN’s 68th birthday. The picture depicted the Liaoning aircraft carrier, plus warships, fighter jets and submarines, but—as internet users were quick to point out and ridicule—the warships were American vessels, and one of the aircraft Russian. Apologising, the Ministry’s spokesman said the image and unfavourable comments would remain online as a ‘warning’ to the editors. This is apparently the first ever public apology for an error, prompting messages of praise from internet users for being ‘magnanimous’ and ‘bravely accepting responsibility’.

News Story: Indonesia orders Lockheed sniper pods for F-16s

Lockheed Martin’s Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod
(Image: Wiki Commons)

By: Mike Yeo

MELBOURNE, Australia — Indonesia will acquire Lockheed Martin’s Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod to equip its Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jets as part of a $10 billion trade and investment agreement signed between the United States and Indonesia. 

The agreement was signed April 21 by U.S. Vice President Mike Pence during his visit to the Southeast Asian country, according to a statement released by the U.S. Embassy in the Indonesian capital Jakarta. 

There was no mention of how many pods Indonesia will acquire, although procurement plans from 2014 indicated Indonesia was seeking 16 pods. Lockheed declined to disclose the number of pods and contract value, and both the U.S. State and Defense departments did not respond to a Defense News inquiry. 

The original 2011 Foreign Military Sales request for the regeneration and upgrade of surplus F-16C/Ds (formerly owned by the U.S. Air Force) for Indonesia also did not include the number of pods Indonesia was seeking.  

Read the full story at DefenseNews