Air Affairs Australia have signed a multi-million-dollar agreement with Raytheon Australia to provide services under the Joint Adversarial Training and Testing Services (JATTS) contract to Defence, as previously reported by Deputy Editor Nigel Pittaway.
The $330 million dollar prime contract was recently signed with Raytheon Australia, as prime contractor, to deliver JATTS to the ADF for a period of eight years with options for further extensions.
“This is an exciting time for Air Affairs as the company has grown significantly over the last five years with extra aircraft being added to our fleet and the development of a future growth plan that will continue to deliver the required capabilities to our ADF customers,” Chris Sievers, Chief Executive Officer, Air Affairs Australia, said.
Consisting of over 94 per cent Australian Industry Contribution, the JATTS contract secures long term employment of over 88 Raytheon Australia, AAA and ATS personnel, predominantly based in the Nowra region.
These contracts provided support to ADF exercises with ‘enemy’ force aircraft, aerial targets, and electronic warfare capabilities servicing a range of ADF platforms including:
• The Air Force‘s Joint Strike Fighter, Super Hornet, Growler, Wedgetail airborne early warning and control capabilities and ground based Aircraft Control Units
• Navy’s Helicopter Frigate and Guided Missile Destroyer capabilities and Army’s Ground Based Air Defence Capabilities.
AAA’s fleet of specially configured Learjet aircraft and aircrew have been providing dedicated Opposing Forces and Target Towing services to the ADF since 2015. In addition, ATS as an associate company has been providing specialised manned and unmanned aerial target services continuously for the past 34 years.
Critical services to be delivered under JATTS includes aerial opposing force effects, manned and unmanned aerial targets and sophisticated electronic attack.
The contract also introduces two additional capabilities: the testing, training and certification of ADF Identification Friend or Foe Mode 5 interrogation systems and advanced airborne threat simulations.
The JATTS contract is designed to evolve over the term of the contract to ensure it remains contemporary and continually satisfies the ADF’s requirements during a time of significant Defence capability expansion.