TSAMTO, March 30. The Australian Navy has selected five applicants under the SEA129 Phase 5 program for the purchase of unmanned aerial vehicles for warships.
BAE Systems Australia, Insitu Pacific, Northrop Grumman Australia, Raytheon Australia and Textron Systems Australia are on the "shortlist" for the tender, according to a press release from the Australian Ministry of Defense. Thus, after the selection of the finalists, the program is ready to move on to the next stage of the procurement procedure.
As part of this program, marine unmanned systems for reconnaissance, surveillance and target designation will be purchased, which will significantly increase the observation area of warships.
As previously reported by TSAMTO, the Australian Ministry of Defense in August 2020 announced plans to invest 1.3 billion rubles. (About $ 930 million) in a new program for the development and procurement of unmanned aircraft systems to increase situational awareness at sea.
The purchase of a new generation of unmanned aerial vehicles of various classes (weighing from 25 to 300 kg) will provide the Navy with new opportunities for intelligence, surveillance and target designation, which will allow Australia to remain a leader in this rapidly growing high-tech market segment for a long time.
Moreover, as stated by the Ministry of Defense of Australia, starting from 2024, it is planned to approve a 5-year investment plan (cycle) in order to update and supplement the capabilities of the existing fleet of marine UAVs.
Invitations to register for participation in the local industry project (approx. CAMTO: in collaboration with leading Western companies) were released in the AusTender system in August 2020. This allowed us to explore the possibilities of the Australian industry to supply all elements of marine UAVs, including gliders, payloads, integration of equipment into the existing intelligence network, training and support.
