The Australian Cabinet has approved a long-awaited defence electronic systems sector strategy that gives the green light to the restriction of tendering on all future electronic-systems acquisition projects by the Australian Department of Defence.
The new policy will also see increased "bundling" of key electronics sector projects - including radar, electronic warfare, command and control systems integration and network-centric warfare.
In parallel, the cabinet has endorsed the DoD's aerospace industry sector strategic plan, strengthening existing policy for the use of new platform acquisition projects to reduce the overall number of aircraft types in Australian military service.
Formal implementation plans are to be developed over the next three months. However, the aerospace sector plan is already being used as the basis of the Australian Defence Force's (ADF) Project Air 9000 helicopter fleet rationalisation programme.
The electronics-sector plan means companies competing for electronic warfare, radar and systems integration projects will be required to pre-qualify to compete at the initial stage of the tendering process on individual projects.
The pre-qualification process replaces earlier proposals for a qualification regime separate to the tendering process (Flight International, 22-28 April 2003). That approach was seen as potentially closing off opportunities for new IT sector firms to enter the market.
The prequalification process is unlikely to significantly affect new aerospace platform acquisitions, given the high offshore content involved in such projects, but will have a major impact on future aerospace upgrade projects in Australia.
Source: Flight International
