British Aerospace Australia is to team with Cubic Defence Systems of San Diego, California, and US electronic-warfare specialist Georgia Tech Research Institute of Atlanta, to bid for an A$90 million ($72 million) Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) contract for the provision and through-life support of an air-combat training system (Project Air 5395).
Cubic would provide airborne pods and avionics, while Georgia Tech Research would work with Cubic on the development of threat emitters and engagement-analysis systems for the surface-to-air attack-training programme.
One phase involves construction of a new electronic-warfare range at Delamere, 200km (125 miles) south of the of the RAAF's base at Tindal, Northern Territory.
The RAAF released a draft specification and statement of work to industry for comment in July 1996, and will release a worldwide request for tender to 35 companies at about the end of April.
The service says that it is designing the range to be compatible with the systems of foreign air forces, including those of Singapore and Thailand, as well as those of the US Air Force, which frequently visits Australia on exercises. The RAAF says that the range will be made available to those services on a commercial basis.
Source: Flight International
