Boeing says it will replicate its established Australian Industry Content (AIC) model if the AH-64E Apache is selected for Australia’s armed reconnaissance helicopter replacement under Land 4503.
Boeing has a network of Australian industry partners on the sustainment and training programs it delivers for rotary and fixed wing aircraft, including F/A-18F Super Hornets, EA-18G Growlers, CH-47F Chinooks, P-8A Poseidons and E-7A Wedgetails.
“We have successfully introduced more platforms acquired through the foreign military sales (FMS) process by the ADF than any other industry partner in Australia,” Scott Carpendale, Vice President and Managing Director, Boeing Defence Australia, said. “To ensure success for our customer and Australian industry, we have developed and replicated a model that increases AIC over time."
Boeing has offered the AH-64E Apache for the Land 4503 program and is proposing acquisition through a FMS agreement followed by sustainment and engineering services through a combination of FMS and direct commercial sale.
“Our solution provides the ADF with a proven, military-off-the-shelf platform supported by a low risk, mature sustainment solution that can rapidly achieve initial operational milestones and enable the expansion of in-country sustainment capabilities with Australian industry partners,” Carpendale said. “We have maximised in-country services on all of our Australian programs and we will do the same on Land 4503.”
To grow AIC on the Land 4503 program, Boeing is establishing the Boeing Rotorcraft Network – Australia (BRN-A) to bring together Australian industry across its rotorcraft programs including the CISS and Helicopter Aircrew Training System programs.
“We created the BRN-A so we can maximise the amount of rotary-wing work that is delivered in Australia,” Nick Gothard, Supply Chain Management Director, Boeing Defence Australia, said. He added that the BRN-A also supports Boeing’s commitment to identify opportunities for Australian companies in its global supply chains.
Boeing is also inviting expressions of interest through the Industry Capability Network (ICN) across 43 work packages including work on airframe assemblies, avionics systems, component manufacturing, ground support services, the supply of materials, the provision of power systems, and the supply of other support and training solutions.
“More than 130 Australian SMEs have expressed an interest in supporting Boeing Defence Australia’s rotorcraft programs," Gothard said, “and through the BRN-A approach we’ve identified some great capability in Australia.
"[An example is] Asia Pacific Aerospace (APA), an Australian supplier who is certified to complete maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) tasks on the AH-64E Apache engines and offers scope to increase the capability provided in-country."
Boeing proposed its AH-64E Apache attack helicopter for Defence’s Land 4503 program. Boeing
