Boeing Defence Australia (BDA) has won a $200 million contract to upgrade the Royal Australian Navy's (RAN) ships communications systems.
“These upgrades enhance Navy’s ability to conduct operational tasks, such as surveillance and multi-domain strike. This shows the Albanese Government is ensuring our ADF personnel have access to a modern communication system that makes them better prepared to safeguard Australians and their interests," Minister for Defence Industry and Capability Delivery, Pat Conroy said.
Brisbane will be the main hub for the design and development work of this program. The contract will provide the Australian Defence Force (ADF) with a single integrated communications network. It will also deliver the Maritime Warfighter Network, a secure and interoperable communications system. It will connect ships and other joint and coalition assets without the constraint of routing all communication paths back to Australia.
“Automation will provide Navy with the ability to easily use various communication transmission devices, reducing operator workload and enhancing operational effectiveness when deployed at sea,” BDA Joint Systems Director, Murray Brabrook stated.
The program builds on another contract worth more than $150 million for Australian-made satellite communications terminals for Navy vessels. Boeing says the base technology of the communication systems is the Integrated Battlefield Telecommunications Network (IBTN) initially developed for the Army and Air Force. IBTN is in service with the Army, under JP2072 Phase 2B called Project Currawong.
“We look forward to delivering Navy a low-risk, secure networking system for their deployed assets, as we have done for the Australian Army and Royal Australian Air Force through the Integrated Battlefield Telecommunications Network (IBTN)," Boeing explained.
The upgrade will replace the Maritime Tactical Wide Area Network (MTWAN), which was delivered under SEA1442 Phase 3.