Breaking ground on air power in the Hunter

“Today’s a really exciting opportunity where we see the first sod being turned on Lockheed Martin’s air power precinct here in Williamtown. It represents an $85 million investment by Lockheed Martin, where we will put the joint air battle management system being delivered to Air Force under Air 6500 under a roof,” King said during a speech immediately prior to the sod-turning ceremony.

“It will be the first and arguably the most critical component in Australia’s integrated air and missile defence capability. This $85 million investment by Lockheed Martin represents our role as a strategic partner, delivering to defence and meeting defence needs, uplifting sovereign capability, and fostering long-term jobs in the defence industry.

“The facility that will go in behind us in the air power precinct will not only house Australia’s integrated air and missile defence ecosystem, but it will also house the men and women who will support the F-35 Lightning IIs that operate on the airfield.

“It’s more than just bricks and mortar. It’s a really exciting enterprise that will deliver real capability for defence. And this facility, this air power precinct, it will also expand on what is already an impressive array of aerospace capabilities here in the Hunter region.

“We’re really proud that we will see our workforce expand to 230 people as part of the rollout of this facility. Construction will begin now. And in 2028, or by 2028, this facility will be open to house the Joint Air Battle Management System and the Lockheed Martin team who come to work every day to support the F-35, the second-largest fleet of F-35s in the world, ensuring it’s operationally ready.

“Once construction begins, you will see every day at least 200 highly skilled tradespeople on this location bringing to reality the vision that we see as the Airpower Precinct here in Williamtown. Not only will we see the 200-plus tradespeople, but it will also pull through many of the local industries as we bring this facility to fruition. Suffice to say we’re really excited by what that will do.

“It will also inject an enormous economic stimulus into the region as we bring this facility to fruition. And so as we move towards the start of 2028 where we see the joint air battlement system in here, we will see the first of Australia’s integrated air and missile defence solutions here in our air power precinct. That also offers enormous opportunities for defence, industry and academia to partner.

“Minister Conroy has announced the Defence Industry Development Strategy and as part of that he highlighted that defence primes such as Lockheed Martin need to find ways to increase the defence technical industry and trades. Lockheed Martin has been well advanced in the Hunter region. Indeed, we are partnered with HunterNet, with RDA Hunter, TAFE New South Wales and with the University of Newcastle in finding ways to open up opportunities for young men and women to learn trades and become part of defence industry in technical roles.

“Already to date we have 18 apprentices who have been through supporting the F-35 and we have four early career graduates ready to start in support of the integrated air and missile defence capability on this location.

“I’m really excited by what we’re doing here, what this facility will be when it’s stood up in nine months’ time, and in fact, what we will deliver in terms of defence capability out of this facility.”

After the sod-turning ceremony, King spoke with Australian Aviation about the new facility.

AA: What are your thoughts on the establishment of the new $85.9 million Air Power Precinct in the Hunter region and its support for Australian F-35 aircraft?

JK: So, it 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. So, we’re already supporting F-35 here, which means we can deliver a more mature solution, stand up, and continue to expand into what we do as a supplier to the global supply chain for all operators.

And on top of that, we obviously need to find a home for the Joint Air Battle Management System, which is being delivered under AIR6500…So, this will be a home for the Joint Air Battle Management System as it grows into the integrated air and missile defence capability for Australia.

AA: Will there be much collaboration with global SMEs, particularly in the region?

JK: We already collaborate in terms of the building, the build of this construction. And that will obviously pull in a whole bunch of suppliers, materials, and other things that go into building. We will, of course, engage across the whole aerospace ecosystem here as well, which is already substantial in the Hunter region.

AA: In terms of corporate direction, what was your key takeaway from Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy’s speech to the National Press Club of Australia and what he wants to see from industry?

JK: I think it reinforced he’s looking for defence primes to step up and fulfil their role as a leader inside Defence and meet Defence’s needs in delivering capability, do it in an effective and timely manner and deliver those things that the National Defence Strategy has called out that need to be placed.

AA: Under the technical industry side of trades here, what sort of initiatives are you looking at there?

JK: One of the things he’s identified is that defence companies such as Lockheed Martin need to step up and find greater opportunities to bring on apprentices and other types of vocational training, skills in support of the defence industry.

We are engaged with a variety of vocational organisations, such as HunterNet, RDA Hunter, the University of Newcastle, and TAFE NSW, to really open the architecture so those opportunities can be there.

But to be fair, it’s consistent with what we’re doing across a bunch of our other locations. We’ve got 20 apprentices in Nowra who are right now being taught trades around the Seahawk Helicopter. So, whilst we’re doing it here, we’re also replicating across a number of our locations.

AA: Will there be any opportunities for the Royal Australian Air Force personnel to undertake apprenticeships here?

JK: The Air Force already has their own training programs through here, and we are in lockstep with them in terms of training.

I think we now see a really seamless environment between the defence industry and the services in how they train their technical workforce. So that’s kind of implied by what we already have in place across on the other side of the airfield, on the RAAF base.

AA: In terms of the 9-month stand-up, that sounds like it’s quite an urgent sort of construction timeline; what was the urgency behind that when you were in negotiations?

JK: I think the urgency is really about this: if you read the National Defence Strategy, it talks about reduced warning time and increased threat. And so, from our perspective, it is incumbent upon us, as a defence prime, to deliver these capabilities as quickly as we possibly can.

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 is asking us.

AA: Is there opportunity for expanding this building and other such facilities further down the track?

JK: The air power precinct will only take up a portion of that area, and so it leaves an enormous opportunity for other options as we look to what the government will ask of us, as we look to expand into the Hunter region and fulfil our commitments under the National Defence Strategy.