Successive Nulka contract for BAE Systems

The Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO) has awarded BAE Systems Australia a 12th successive annual contract to produce additional rounds for the Nulka soft kill anti-ship missile defence.

Under the $40 million contract, BAE Systems Australia will produce additional rounds for use by the Australian, US and Canadian navies.

Nulka is a rocket propelled active decoy system designed to lure anti-ship missiles away from their intended target.

Originally conceived in Australia, and developed under a joint Australian-US program, it provides warships with a highly effective all-weather defence against anti-ship missiles, bringing together hovering rocket, autonomous system and electronic technologies.

While BAE Systems Australia is the prime contractor, two US sub-contractors, Lockheed Martin and Aerojet, manufacture the electronic warfare payload and the rocket motor respectively.

To date, 940 Nulka rounds have been produced. Later this year will see the completion of the 1000th round, which will be a very significant program milestone.

Nulka's deployment on more than 130 surface combat ships is a testament to the trust that the US, Canadian and Australian navies place in the system.

Nulka is also Australia's largest and most successful regular defence export, with earnings of more than $800 million over the past two decades.