Albury aerospace SME joins Black Hawk sustainment network

The partnership builds on AAE’s existing relationship with Lockheed Martin Australia and Sikorsky Australia, for which the company already provides aerospace spare parts and material support to Seahawk sustainment operations at Nowra.

AAE will deliver the new Black Hawk work from its purpose-built 1,900-square metre maintenance, repair and overhaul facility in Albury.

The facility includes aircraft maintenance and component overhaul capability, non-destructive testing, machining, manufacturing, spare-parts storage and a semi-downdraft heated spray booth, providing the infrastructure needed to support increasingly complex aerospace sustainment activities.

Sikorsky Australia general manager Cliff Kyle said the partnership would help strengthen Australia’s sovereign rotary-wing industrial capability.

“Lockheed Martin Australia is committed to growing Australia’s sovereign rotary wing workforce and supply chain to support Army’s Black Hawks,” Kyle said.

“AAE is a terrific example of the specialist capability that exists within Australia’s SME sector. Expanding its role brings additional sovereign expertise and capacity in our sustainment network and helps ensure Black Hawks are available and mission-ready when the Australian Army needs them.”

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AAE chief executive Adam Johnston said the Black Hawk opportunity marked an important step in the company’s development.

“From a three-person family business to a mature aerospace SME, we are honoured to be entrusted to deliver complex outcomes for the Australian Defence Force,” Johnston said.

He said AAE’s previous work supporting the Seahawk program had helped build the systems, workforce and technical capability needed to take on more complex sustainment responsibilities.

“By keeping expertise, manufacturing and supply chain capability within Australia, we strengthen resilience in our ability to respond quickly when Defence capability is needed,” Johnston said.

The agreement forms part of Lockheed Martin Australia’s broader Australian industry capability strategy, with the company expecting local industry participation to grow as the Black Hawk program matures and the fleet moves towards a sustainable operational tempo.

The Australian Army has so far received 19 UH-60M Black Hawks, with the full fleet scheduled for delivery by 2030. The aircraft have collectively surpassed 5,000 flying hours in Australia since the first airframes arrived in 2023.

For AAE, the partnership also highlights the growing role regional SMEs can play in building Australia’s sovereign defence industrial base, particularly as Defence seeks to distribute high-skilled sustainment and manufacturing capability beyond the major capital cities.