The Australian Department of Defence is undertaking a fast-track review of its Joint Project 129 (JP129) tactical unmanned air vehicle (TUAV) source selection process after the Australian Cabinet’s national security committee (NSC) approved a preferred supplier, but asked for further analysis before a winner is announced.
The committee is believed to have approved the purchase of either Israel Aircraft Industries’ I-View 250 or AAI’s Shadow 200B, with well-placed sources indicating the IAI solution may be preferred. The companies are teamed, respectively, with Boeing Australia and BAE Systems Australia, both of which are struggling to retain industrial capability amid a general downturn in Australian defence workloads. The JP129 requirement – which initially seeks two systems to enter service in 2009 – was also being pursued by Elbit Systems, offering the Hermes 450 in a teaming arrangement with Thales subsidiary ADI.
The Australian Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO) wrote to the three bidders on 11 November to confirm that the NSC had endorsed a solution, but said the outcome had created “issues, [which] may impact on selection of a tenderer”. The DMO says it may take up to two weeks to resolve the matter.
- Australian defence minister Robert Hill has announced that four of the 10 Elbit Skylark mini-UAV systems acquired by the country recently will be deployed to Iraq and two used for training. Defence ministry sources say the remaining four systems will be deployed to Afghanistan to support Australian Special Forces.
PETER LA FRANCHI/CANBERRA
Source: Flight International
