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A$36.6M global centre for autonomous systems to be based in Victoria

17 Nov 2005

BAE Systems Australia and the Victorian State Government today announced the establishment of a global Centre for Autonomous Systems. This Victorian based Centre will bring together $36.6m of investment in the rapidly growing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) market and is expected to create several hundred additional jobs in the State.

The investment includes:

* A$15m invested by BAE Systems to develop its current autonomous systems capability in Australia.
* A$4.8m committed by the Federal Government through the Defence Departments Capability and Technology Demonstration (CTD) projects.
* A$16.8m new investment by BAE Systems and the Victoria Government to establish new infrastructure, develop export markets and undertake Research and Development (R&D).

The new infrastructure includes:

* Autonomous Systems Design and Development Facility in Melbourne
* Autonomous Systems Integration Laboratory in Melbourne and
* UAV Flight Testing and Trials Facility at West Sale in regional Victoria

The establishment of a dedicated UAV Flight Testing and Trials Facility at West Sale will be a first for Australia and will attract significant additional investment to regional Victoria. Air Services Australia (AA) and the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) have recently approved the requirement to declare the airspace around West Sale as a permanent UAV Operations Area. This facility will also be used by the successful Victorian UAV developer Aerosonde.

The R&D investment will further develop technologies such as:

* Decentralised Data Fusion
* Future UAV for Reconnaissance & Interdiction (FURI)
* Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance Management System (IMS)
* UAV Experimentation System (UES)

Stephen Birrell, General Manager at BAE Systems said: This investment confirms BAE Systems as Australias leading UAV systems company and positions Victoria as a global hub for UAV design, development, integration and testing. This capability directly supports the Australian Defence Forces (ADFs) UAV acquisition plans including: JP129 Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (TUAV) System, Air 7000 Multi-mission Unmanned Aerial Vehicle and Air 6000 New Aerospace Combat Capability.

BAE Systems will also target civil UAV applications including costal surveillance, bush fire detection and search & rescue. We also expect to emulate the export success of our Nulka UAV system by exploiting our technologies in the global UAV market, added Stephen.

About BAE SYSTEMS

BAE Systems is an international company engaged in the development, delivery, and support of advanced defence and aerospace systems in the air, on land, at sea, and in space. The Company designs, manufactures, and supports military aircraft, combat vehicles, surface ships, submarines, radar, avionics, communications, electronics, and guided weapon systems. It is a pioneer in technology with a heritage stretching back hundreds of years and is at the forefront of innovation, working to develop the next generation of intelligent defence systems. BAE Systems has major operations across five continents and customers in some 130 countries. The Company employs over 90,000 people and generates annual sales of approximately 14.8 billion through its wholly owned and joint-venture operations.

For further information, please contact:

Shelley Mearns, BAE Systems Australia
Tel: +61 0 8 8480 7211, Mob: +61 (0) 402 890 760

Jo-Anne Marshall, BAE Systems Australia
Tel: +61 8 8480 7842