Canberra has announced the shortlist for its Sea 129-5 acquisition, which will see Royal Australian Navy ships receive a new unmanned air vehicle (UAV) capability. The five contenders are BAE Systems Australia, Insitu Pacific, Northrop Grumman Australia, Raytheon Australia, and Textron Systems Australia, says defence minister Melissa Price.
“This programme will acquire maritime unmanned intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and targeting aircraft systems which will complement current sensors and systems on [the] navy’s ships, while boosting a ship’s area of surveillance,” she says.
“Today’s milestone is a result of the Morrison government’s unprecedented A$270 billion [$205 billion] investment in defence capability over the next decade, which is equipping the Australian Defence Force with world-class, cutting edge capability.”...MORE
