Australia could house global F-35 maintenance hub

The Air Power Precinct is designed to provide critical sustainment capabilities for Australia’s F-35 fleet and support regional sustainment arrangements for other F-35 operators, including a dedicated canopy repair capability.

Construction is being fast-tracked to make the facility operational by 2028, with dedicated zones for hardware assembly and installation, integration and validation, end‑to‑end testing of system of systems, sustainment of sovereign software, and advanced training for integrated air and missile defence capability, including Australia’s Joint Air Battle Management System.

“(The precinct) gives a home for our existing F-35 capability but it allows us to expand on what we’re doing as part of the global supply chain. We’re already supporting F-35 here, but it means we can do a more mature solution, stand up and continue to expand into what we do as a supply to the global supply chain for all the operators,” Major General (Ret’d) King said.

“And then on top of that, we need to find a home for the Joint Air Battle Management System, which is being delivered on the Project AIR 6500 … So, this will be a home for both the Joint Air Battle Management System as it grows to become the air combat and missile defence capability for Australia.

“Lockheed Martin Australia are part of the global supply chain and so part of that responsibility supporting not only Australia but fulfilling our responsibilities in the global supply chain.

“The Air Power Precinct will only take up a portion of that (total) area and so it leaves enormous opportunity for other options as we look to what government will ask of us, as we look to expand into the Hunter region and fulfil our commitments under the National Defence Strategy.”

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King also addressed the recent announcement of a 2026 Defence Industry Development Strategy by Australian Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy earlier this month to improve the acquisition and delivery of critical defence capability.

“I think it reinforced that he’s looking for Defence primes to step up and fulfil their role as a leader inside Defence, meet Defence’s needs and delivering capabilities and do it in an effective and timely manner,” King said.

“One of the things identified is that defence primes such as Lockheed Martin needs to step up and find greater opportunities to bring on apprentices and other types of vocational training.

“I think the urgency is really around (to complete the build by 2028), if you read the National Defence Strategy, it talks about a reduced warning time and increased threat. And so from our perspective, we see it incumbent upon our role as a defence prime to deliver these capabilities as quickly as we possibly can.

“And so we, along with our construction partners, are looking to deliver it as quickly as we can, which is entirely in keeping with what the National Defence Strategy has asked of us.”