Northrop Grumman is seeking expressions of interests from Australian and New Zealand industries with capabilities including software development, systems integration, facilities construction, system operators, sustainment, and participation in the supply chain through manufacture and supply of sub-systems and components.
Australia is increasingly reliant on satellite-based capability and services, particularly where digital data and information drives decision-making. Through the 2020 Force Structure Plan, the Commonwealth has outlined its approach for investing and developing space capabilities to improve Defence’s resilience and enhance a large number of space-dependant capabilities across the Joint Force. These include:
- The acquisition and sustainment of sovereign-controlled satellites, and ground control stations that will be under sovereign Australian control, increasing our self-reliance and resilience.
- Enhancing space domain awareness to enable better tracking and identification of space objects and threats, such as space debris, as well as predicting and avoiding potential collisions.
- Developing capabilities to counter emerging space threats to Australia’s free use of the space domain and that assure our continued access to space-based intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.
- A rolling upgrade program to assure position, navigation and timing information in a contested environment.
- Acquisition of a sovereign space-based imagery capability to enhance coverage of the Indo-Pacific region.
The Space Systems Project presents an opportunity for Australian and New Zealand industry to participate in a strategically important program to build and maintain an enduring Australian space capability with an opportunity to enter export markets.
The due date for industry submissions is 30 September 2020.
