Defence industry of Victoria
Encyclopedia
This article provides information on the industrial sector in Victoria (Australia)
that supplies goods and services to defence and military customers (national governments) and associated supply chain.
has stated that the defence industry, including military equipment manufacture as well as design, technology support and other services, is a priority industry for the economic development of the State.
Some examples of defence projects completed or underway in Victoria include:
Victorian defence businesses have also enjoyed successes in defence exports and global integration. For example: Tenix Defence
is completing Project Protector
at Williamstown for the New Zealand Government, Thales Australia has sold military vehicles to the US, Canada, the UAE and the Netherlands, Nulka and ESSM technologies have been successfully exported, and GKN
is providing high level design support to international primes on global projects such as Joint Strike Fighter.
Victoria is also home to the Defence Materials Technology Centre, Defence Science and Technology Organisation
(DSTO) and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
(CSIRO).
Approximately 25 percent of defence industry activity in Australia occurs in Victoria, despite the fact that Victoria has few major military bases and consequently fewer opportunities to supply maintenance and overhaul services to Defence assets. The core of Victoria’s defence industry (being those businesses with more than 50 percent of revenue derived from defence customers) has a turnover in excess of $1.2 billion per annum, employing over 10,500 Victorians.
About 60 percent of this employment is by the 19 Prime and Tier 1 defence contractors that undertake defence work in Victoria.
This activity is separate from those people employed directly in the Australian Defence Force
and Defence civilian administration. There are around 6000 military employees based in Victoria and almost 4000 civilian employees.
These employment and activity numbers does also not include research institutions and related non-profit activities. For example, there are around 600 people employed in Victoria by the Defence Science and Technology Organisation
.
The major sources of defence industry activity (turnover) in Victoria in 2005-06 were:
Supporting the defence industry, there are in excess of 800 firms that supply goods and services to defence businesses, and many more that enter and exit the defence sector for particular projects.
87 percent of Victorian defence companies also generate additional business outside the defence market.
Four of Australia's top five defence businesses have substantial operations in Victoria.
In 2005-06, turnover per employee for Victorian defence businesses was $193,000 for the total industry. Prime/Tier 1 productivity was $171,000 per employee while productivity in small-to-medium sized enterprises (SMEs) was over $250,000 per employee.
Sixty-seven percent of defence businesses operating in Victoria are actively exporting defence and non-defence goods and services to a total value of $1.05 billion in 2005-06. This is around 6 percent of total Victorian exports. Around 40 percent of the total turnover for the core Victorian defence companies in 2005-06 was attributed to international markets. Victoria's defence businesses were responsible for more than two-thirds of Australia's defence exports in 2005-06.
The unit is made up of the following people:
To guide policy development and lead on strategic projects the Government also established the Victorian Defence Industry Advisory Council on 24 July 2007. The Council provides the Government with high level advice on current defence industry issues.
The members of the Council are:
The Victorian Defence Industry Advisory Council initiative was announced as part of the Government’s strategic framework A Roadmap for Victoria’s Defence Industries released on 10 August 2006.
Savi Technology
Aerosonde Ltd
Adacel
BAE Systems Australia
Thales Australia
GKN
Radio Frequency Systems
BMT Limited
Lockheed Martin
Chemring
AAII Corporation
QinetiQ
L3 Communications
SAIC
Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems
Boeing Australia
(Hawker de Havilland)
IDES
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
that supplies goods and services to defence and military customers (national governments) and associated supply chain.
Defence industry activity in Victoria
The Government of VictoriaGovernment of Victoria
The Government of Victoria, under the Constitution of Australia, ceded certain legislative and judicial powers to the Commonwealth, but retained complete independence in all other areas...
has stated that the defence industry, including military equipment manufacture as well as design, technology support and other services, is a priority industry for the economic development of the State.
Some examples of defence projects completed or underway in Victoria include:
- ANZAC class frigateAnzac class frigateThe Anzac class is a ship class of ten frigates; eight operated by the Royal Australian Navy and two operated by the Royal New Zealand Navy...
project – ten frigates at a total project value of over $7 billion constructed by Tenix DefenceTenix DefenceTenix Defence was Australia's largest defence contractor with core capabilities in Aerospace, Land, Marine and Electronic Systems applications. BAE Systems announced its intention to acquire the company from Tenix in January 2008 and the acquisition was completed in June 2008 for A$775 million...
at WilliamstownWilliamstown, VictoriaWilliamstown is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 8 km south-west from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Hobsons Bay. At the 2006 Census, Williamstown had a population of 12,733....
- Joint Strike Fighter – to date, twelve Victorian companies have been awarded contracts to work on the JSF F-35 project to provide key components, engineering and design services, which represents about 60 percent of total JSF work done in Australia
- P3 Orion Avionics Upgrade – the $750m upgrade of RAAF’s maritime patrol aircraft at AvalonAvalonAvalon is a legendary island featured in the Arthurian legend. It first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's 1136 pseudohistorical account Historia Regum Britanniae as the place where King Arthur's sword Excalibur was forged and later where Arthur was...
- JORN – A $1.1 billion project to design and manufacture the Jindalee Operational Radar NetworkJindalee Operational Radar NetworkThe Jindalee Operational Radar Network is an over-the-horizon radar network that can monitor air and sea movements across 37,000 km2. It has an official range of 3,000 km. It is used in the defence of Australia and can also monitor maritime operations, wave heights and wind directions...
was completed in Melbourne
- NulkaNulkaNulka is an Australian designed and developed active missile decoy built by an Australian/American collaboration. Used aboard warships of the United States Navy , Royal Australian Navy , United States Coast Guard , and Canadian Forces, Nulka is a rocket propelled, disposable, offboard, active decoy...
Decoy Project – Victoria is at the centre of the Nulka ship defence system project, a highly successful commercialisation of DSTO technology
- Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile Project – key elements of the flight control system for the ESSM were developed in Victoria
- Munitions – all domestic production of military munitions occurs at Benalla
- F/A-18 HornetF/A-18 HornetThe McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is a supersonic, all-weather carrier-capable multirole fighter jet, designed to dogfight and attack ground targets . Designed by McDonnell Douglas and Northrop, the F/A-18 was derived from the latter's YF-17 in the 1970s for use by the United States Navy and...
Fighter Aircraft – Australia's fighter aircraft fleet was assembled at Avalon with composite components manufactured at Fishermans Bend in Melbourne
- High Mobility Engineering Vehicles – delivery of 27 HMEVs completed for the Army, and 40 units sold to the US. High interest has been shown from China, Canada and the United Arab Emirates
- Bushmaster IMVBushmaster IMVThe Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicle or Infantry Mobility Vehicle is an Australian-built wheeled armoured vehicle. It was originally designed by Irish company Timoney Technology Ltd under a licence agreement with Perry Engineering in Adelaide; that licence was sold, with permission granted by...
– full rate production of 700 Bushmaster vehicles is underway at Bendigo. Interest has been shown by the US, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates
- Canberra class large amphibious shipCanberra class large amphibious shipThe Canberra class is a ship class of two Landing Helicopter Dock ships being built for the Royal Australian Navy . Planning to upgrade the navy's amphibious fleet began in 2000, based on Australian experiences leading the International Force for East Timor peacekeeping operation...
project - Tenix Defence (now part of BAE Systems Australia) has been announced as the preferred tenderer to build two new large amphibious ships (landing ship helicopter docks, or LHD) for the Royal Australian Navy at a cost of around $3 billion.
Victorian defence businesses have also enjoyed successes in defence exports and global integration. For example: Tenix Defence
Tenix Defence
Tenix Defence was Australia's largest defence contractor with core capabilities in Aerospace, Land, Marine and Electronic Systems applications. BAE Systems announced its intention to acquire the company from Tenix in January 2008 and the acquisition was completed in June 2008 for A$775 million...
is completing Project Protector
Project Protector
Project Protector was an procurement project for the Royal New Zealand Navy that occurred during the 2000s. At the start of the decade, the New Zealand government retasked the New Zealand Defence Force to be equally capable in combat, peacekeeping, and disaster relief, with the RNZN to focus on...
at Williamstown for the New Zealand Government, Thales Australia has sold military vehicles to the US, Canada, the UAE and the Netherlands, Nulka and ESSM technologies have been successfully exported, and GKN
GKN
GKN plc is a multinational automotive and aerospace components company headquartered in Redditch, United Kingdom. The company was formerly known as Guest, Keen and Nettlefolds and can trace its origins back to 1759 and the birth of the Industrial Revolution.GKN is listed on the London Stock...
is providing high level design support to international primes on global projects such as Joint Strike Fighter.
Victoria is also home to the Defence Materials Technology Centre, Defence Science and Technology Organisation
Defence Science and Technology Organisation
The Defence Science and Technology Organisation is a branch of the Australian Department of Defence which researches and develops technologies for use in the Australian defence industry....
(DSTO) and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation is the national government body for scientific research in Australia...
(CSIRO).
Scale of defence industry in Victoria
Note: unless otherwise indicated, data in this section is from "Project to measure Victoria's defence industry activity" written by Australian Aerospace and Defence Innovations Ltd, June 2006. http://www.business.vic.gov.au/busvicwr/_assets/main/lib60053/def_report-aadi.pdfApproximately 25 percent of defence industry activity in Australia occurs in Victoria, despite the fact that Victoria has few major military bases and consequently fewer opportunities to supply maintenance and overhaul services to Defence assets. The core of Victoria’s defence industry (being those businesses with more than 50 percent of revenue derived from defence customers) has a turnover in excess of $1.2 billion per annum, employing over 10,500 Victorians.
About 60 percent of this employment is by the 19 Prime and Tier 1 defence contractors that undertake defence work in Victoria.
This activity is separate from those people employed directly in the Australian Defence Force
Australian Defence Force
The Australian Defence Force is the military organisation responsible for the defence of Australia. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy , Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Force and a number of 'tri-service' units...
and Defence civilian administration. There are around 6000 military employees based in Victoria and almost 4000 civilian employees.
These employment and activity numbers does also not include research institutions and related non-profit activities. For example, there are around 600 people employed in Victoria by the Defence Science and Technology Organisation
Defence Science and Technology Organisation
The Defence Science and Technology Organisation is a branch of the Australian Department of Defence which researches and develops technologies for use in the Australian defence industry....
.
The major sources of defence industry activity (turnover) in Victoria in 2005-06 were:
| Sector | Turnover |
|---|---|
| Naval shipbuilding and repair | $400 million |
| Aerospace structural design and manufacturing | $240 million |
| Weapons and ordnance | $200 million |
| Aerospace electronics | $140 million |
| Land vehicles | $85 million |
| Non-aerospace electronics | $80 million |
| Aerospace maintenance and overhaul | $75 million |
Supporting the defence industry, there are in excess of 800 firms that supply goods and services to defence businesses, and many more that enter and exit the defence sector for particular projects.
87 percent of Victorian defence companies also generate additional business outside the defence market.
Four of Australia's top five defence businesses have substantial operations in Victoria.
In 2005-06, turnover per employee for Victorian defence businesses was $193,000 for the total industry. Prime/Tier 1 productivity was $171,000 per employee while productivity in small-to-medium sized enterprises (SMEs) was over $250,000 per employee.
Sixty-seven percent of defence businesses operating in Victoria are actively exporting defence and non-defence goods and services to a total value of $1.05 billion in 2005-06. This is around 6 percent of total Victorian exports. Around 40 percent of the total turnover for the core Victorian defence companies in 2005-06 was attributed to international markets. Victoria's defence businesses were responsible for more than two-thirds of Australia's defence exports in 2005-06.
Industry support
Support to the Victorian defence industry is primary delivered or coordinated by the State Government Department of Innovation, Industry and Regional Development, which has a dedicated Defence Industry Unit. The Defence Industry Unit is led by Major General (rtd) Peter Haddad AO whom the Government engaged as its strategic advisor in 2006.The unit is made up of the following people:
- Peter Haddad - Strategic Advisor - Defence
- Roger James - naval shipbuilding and military aerospace
- Steve Dartnell – land systems, munitions, electronics
- Megan Smart – Senior Policy Adviser
- Charlotte Morris - Senior Program Officer
- Rowena Vagg – Senior Program Officer
- Peter Sbarski - Policy Adviser
To guide policy development and lead on strategic projects the Government also established the Victorian Defence Industry Advisory Council on 24 July 2007. The Council provides the Government with high level advice on current defence industry issues.
The members of the Council are:
- Ric Smith AO, PSM (Chair) - former Secretary of the Department of Defence (Australia)Department of Defence (Australia)The Australian Department of Defence is a Federal Government Department. It forms part of the Australian Defence Organisation along with the Australian Defence Force . The Defence mission is to defend Australia and its national interests...
and previously Australian Ambassador to Indonesia and China - Ken Loughnan, AO (Deputy Chair) - Chairman of Skilled GroupSKILLED GroupSKILLED Group is a public Australian company headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria and listed on the Australian Stock Exchange. Its core business is labour hire, also known as supplementary staffing, and it is the market leader in this space in Australia...
, the Ministerial Steering Committee for Emergency Services and Victoria University Council Member. - LTGEN (rtd) Des Mueller AO - former Vice Chief of the Australian Defence ForceAustralian Defence ForceThe Australian Defence Force is the military organisation responsible for the defence of Australia. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy , Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Force and a number of 'tri-service' units...
- Roger Lough - Former Chief Scientist of the Defence Science and Technology OrganisationDefence Science and Technology OrganisationThe Defence Science and Technology Organisation is a branch of the Australian Department of Defence which researches and develops technologies for use in the Australian defence industry....
(DSTO) and the Deputy Chair of the Defence Materials Technology Centre (DMTC) Board - Rear Admiral (retired) John Lord AM - Chair of Defence Maritime Services and a former Maritime Commander Australia
- Andrew Johnson - Managing Director, Orion Satellite Systems
- Laura Anderson - Former Senior Partner at KPMG and key adviser on industry matters to the Department of DefenceDepartment of Defence (Australia)The Australian Department of Defence is a Federal Government Department. It forms part of the Australian Defence Organisation along with the Australian Defence Force . The Defence mission is to defend Australia and its national interests...
. - Lynne Bennington - Professor at RMITRMIT UniversityRMIT University is an Australian public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. It has two branches, referred to as RMIT University in Australia and RMIT International University in Vietnam....
The Victorian Defence Industry Advisory Council initiative was announced as part of the Government’s strategic framework A Roadmap for Victoria’s Defence Industries released on 10 August 2006.
Defence companies in Victoria
The following companies are based in, or have significant operations in, Victoria:Savi Technology
Savi Technology
Savi Technology is a US-based company that provides real-time RFID solutions for managing and securing global supply chain assets. Headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, Savi has offices in Mountain View, CA, Lexington, KY, Singapore, London, UK, and Melbourne, Australia...
Aerosonde Ltd
Aerosonde Ltd
Aerosonde Ltd is an Australian-based developer and manufacturer of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, including the Insitu Aerosonde series. The company has customers in Australia, Asia and North America who utilize its vehicles for reconnaissance and meteorological applications.The company gained...
Adacel
Adacel
Adacel is a global software technology and systems integrator. The company is a leading developer of critical aviation, speech recognition, defense simulation and security systems for government and commercial enterprises, including the F-35 Lightning II...
BAE Systems Australia
BAE Systems Australia
BAE Systems Australia, a subsidiary of BAE Systems plc, is the largest defence contractor in Australia. It was formed by the merger of British Aerospace Australia and GEC-Marconi Systems and expanded by the acquisitions of Armor Holdings in 2007 and Tenix Defence in June 2008.-History:BAE Systems'...
Thales Australia
GKN
GKN
GKN plc is a multinational automotive and aerospace components company headquartered in Redditch, United Kingdom. The company was formerly known as Guest, Keen and Nettlefolds and can trace its origins back to 1759 and the birth of the Industrial Revolution.GKN is listed on the London Stock...
Radio Frequency Systems
BMT Limited
BMT Limited
Established in 1985, BMT Group Ltd is an international multi-disciplinary engineering, science and technology consultancy offering a broad range of services, particularly in the defence, energy, environment, maritime transport, marine risk and insurance, shipping and general transportation sectors...
Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin is an American global aerospace, defense, security, and advanced technology company with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, in the Washington Metropolitan Area....
Chemring
AAII Corporation
QinetiQ
QinetiQ
Qinetiq is a British global defence technology company, formed from the greater part of the former UK government agency, Defence Evaluation and Research Agency , when it was split up in June 2001...
L3 Communications
SAIC
SAIC
The acronym SAIC can stand for:*Science Applications International Corporation*School of the Art Institute of Chicago*Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation*Shanghai Aviation Industrial Company*Special Agent in Charge, acronym used by some U.S...
Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems
ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems
ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems of Germany is a group and holding company of providers of naval vessels, surface ships and submarines...
Boeing Australia
Boeing Australia
Boeing Australia Holdings Pty Ltd, or simply Boeing Australia, is Boeing's largest footprint outside the United States. Established in 2002, the company oversees its seven wholly owned subsidiaries, consolidating and co-ordinating Boeing’s businesses and operations in Australia.Boeing has played an...
(Hawker de Havilland)
IDES