This comes just over eight months after the former Morrison government sent a letter of request to the United States as part of a provisional assessment process designed to inform a prospective purchase from Sikorsky.
The agreement between the two companies will see RUAG Australia become a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) authorised service centre for the Asia Pacific Wheels and Brakes program for the F-35.
The French Air and Space Force (FASF) aircraft made the 16,000-kilometre journey with the aid of a multi-role tanker transport aircraft.
Turner said this year will only be one of “gradual recovery” as his business announced a $287.2 million loss for the 12 months to 30 June. Full-year revenue, however, more than doubled to $1 billion.
It comes days after it was revealed domestic aviation in July suffered another record month for poor performance, with Qantas alone seeing just 45.3 per cent of flights depart on time.
The Flying Kangaroo currently travels via Singapore to the British capital and will soon fly via Auckland to New York. These could remain even after direct flights from Sydney launch in 2025.