Julian Kerr | Sydney
When the first two RAAF F-35A Joint Strike fighters (JSFs) to arrive in Australia land at RAAF Williamtown in December 2018, two fully-equipped F-35A airframe support bays will be awaiting them in a BAE Systems Australia (BAES) hangar.
Airframe maintenance, repair, overhaul and upgrade (MRO&U)work for the F-35 fleet in the Southern Pacific region was awarded to BAES in December 2014.
Since then the company has been preparing for this task while awaiting the outcome of other bids that could see a significant expansion of its involvement with the F-35 program.
“In the short to medium term the only F-35s in the Southern Pacific region are likely to be the flown by the RAAF and the US military services.”
In November 2016 BAES was selected as the primary provider of global sustainment services for F-35 Life Support components for 2021-2025. From 2025 onwards it will play a leading role in regional sustainment work across avionics and digital mission systems and electrical system components.
Still to be decided on by the US Joint Program Office (JPO) are bids for the establishment of a major regional warehouse, and for the sustainment of support equipment. A Request for Information on the MRO&U of about 700 F-35 components additional to those awarded in November 2016 is expected later this year.
Preparations at Williamtown for the F-35s’ arrival involve extending the company’s northern hangar to accommodate the Lead-in Fighter program currently located in BAE Systems’ southern hangar, and repurposing that hangar for F-35 support.
“This was the lowest cost option, and the southern hangar is more set off from public access which makes it easier to establish a couple of high security areas internally for the infrastructure required by the F-35’s Autonomic Logistics Information System (ALIS),” said Andrew Gresham, the company’s F-35 program director.
“There are essentially three core pieces of security protocols on the program – ITAR, which relates to what nationalities can work with the technical data and information and equipment; US military security; and Australian Defence security, and we’re working through all three,” Gresham explained.
In the short to medium term the only F-35s in the Southern Pacific region are likely to be the flown by the RAAF and the US military services. Singapore has confirmed its interest but has said it’s in no hurry to sign a contract.
Deliveries of all 72 F-35As set for the RAAF should be completed by 2023, by when eight support bays will be operational.
“Even with our initial capacity we’ll be able to accept foreign aircraft; we’ll have the equipment, we’ll have the ability to handle foreign military data in terms of the data that is on the aircraft, and we’ll have the necessary relationship in place with Lockheed Martin and the JPO,” said Gresham.
Given the concurrency policy of building aircraft while development was still underway, he expected early airframe work to revolve around modification packages.
“We’re not exactly clear on the content of such packages but we’d expect them to be predominantly software, with a smaller element of hardware.”
Gresham said the RAAF was currently progressing a study of what would be required on the part of Air Force and industry regarding longer-term, periodic maintenance to safeguard the aircraft’s low visibility signature.
The initial F-35 support team, expected to grow to around 200 personnel by the early 2020s, would be recruited internally and trained in the US. Support from Lockheed Martin in terms of the transfer of technology would be received for about a year.