Leidos complete Cobham Special Mission purchase

Defence and technology firm Leidos announced it would purchase its special mission assets.

Defence and technology firm Leidos has finalised the purchase of the special mission assets of Cobham.

The deal, first announced in August, includes maritime surveillance and fixed-wing search and rescue alongside its mission aircrew training system.

Cobham Special Mission is the largest outsourced civil maritime surveillance operation in the world, covering the 8.2 million square kilometre area that is Australia’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) using a fleet of modified Bombardier Challenger jets fitted with state-of-the-art command and control systems and sensors.

It comes months after Rex announced it would scoop up Cobham’s FIFO operation for $48 million and expand its services further into Queensland and the Northern Territory.

“On behalf of Leidos, I want to express a warm welcome to the Cobham Special Mission team,” said Paul Chase, chief executive of Leidos Australia.

“This team brings a tremendous reputation from across industry and government. We look forward to continuing to provide exceptional service to our customers.”

Chase has previously stated that the acquisition of Cobham Aviation Services’ Special Mission by Leidos would expand the company’s capabilities in Australia.

“I have the greatest respect and admiration for Cobham’s Special Mission team and their performance in service to the government,” said Chase.

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“The addition of the Special Mission business will bring new, expansive services to our offerings across Australia. I look forward to working with this exceptional team.”

Leidos has seen significant growth in the Australian market that it could use as a foundation for further expansion into the greater Asia-Pacific region.

Since its merger with US aerospace and defence company Lockheed Martin in 2016, Leidos has furthered its expansion in Australia, becoming one of the largest prime systems integrators servicing Australia’s federal public sector market.

Placing a key focus on the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), Leidos has been so successful that between 45 per cent and 50 per cent of the company’s US$1 billion (roughly AU$1.557 billion) in overseas sales revenue in 2020 came from the Australian market.