Jet nest

BAE Systems’ maintenance base

The BAE Systems Australia facility at RAAF Williamtown/Newcastle Airport was built in 1998 to support the local assembly of 22 of the RAAF’s then new BAE Systems Hawk 127 Lead In Fighters (LIF), but also with the potential assembly of Eurofighter Typhoon fighters which BAE Systems was planning to pitch to the RAAF to replace the F/A-18 Hornets, in mind.

That the F-35 JSF was selected in 2002 to replace the Hornets and thus the Eurofighter opportunity was missed is now history, but rather than be lost forever as has happened with so any other Australian aerospace manufacturing and assembly initiatives, the 180-strong Hawk assembly workforce, the capabilities and the facilities built up by BAE Systems at Williamtown have not only been retained, but have effectively doubled in the years since. Following the incorporation of Hunter Aerospace into BAE Systems in 2004 the workforce grew to 250, and today the site accommodates more than 400 people including more than 200 engineers and technicians. Indeed, the location’s success and workload justified the addition of a second building in 2009 which houses BAE Systems Aerospace division headquarters and other administration upstairs, and has additional aircraft maintenance bays, workshops and stores underneath.