The Australian Department of Defence has selected Lockheed Martin as its strategic partner to develop advanced military defense capabilities under the AIR6500 Phase 1 program.
In a statement, three-time Wash100 recipient Stephanie Hill, executive vice president at Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems, said the partnership will enable the Australian Defence Force to use information at an accelerated pace, increased accuracy and expanded scale.
Hill described the AIR6500-1 project as a game-changer that would provide the blueprint for global military joint all-domain operations.
According to Lockheed, the goal of the program is to deliver a Joint Air Battle Management System, which will serve as the core architecture of the ADF’s future Integrated Air and Missile Defence capability.
JABMS will equip the Australian military with enhanced situational awareness and defense against advanced air and missile threats, the company said. The system will also allow the ADF to better operate when working with the United States and other partner nations.
Lockheed Martin Australia started working on AIR6500-1 in 2015 and has since committed $47.6 million to strengthen cooperation with industry and academic partners to establish the planned IAMD ecosystem.
In addition, the organization invested $64.3 million in facilities upgrades and collaborated with prime contractors such as Boeing and RTX to support the ADF’s vision of creating an IAMD-capable military force.