Collins Aerospace, a US-based company owned by Raytheon, has just shy of 150 employees in its Australian workforce. Sonny Foster, Managing Director for Collins Aerospace in Australia, said the company has a 50+-year presence.
Defence comprises approximately 90% of its work, and the commercial sector the remainder, though the company is focusing on expanding the latter.
Collins Aerospace has a facility in Sydney, from which some exports are even conducted. An example is the Distributed Aperture System on the F-35 fighter, with around half of those used on the international fleet are made in Australia.
Foster explained: ‘I think one of the keys for us is, particularly over the last two decades, is that we’ve really demonstrated an ability to take core capability out of our global organisation – typically the US, UK, Germany – and really customise those capabilities specifically for the Australian customer and, in this case, the Australian Defence Force.
We’ve really grown a great capability in Australia.
‘We have what we’d say is a full spectrum of engineering, business development and programme management, which we call the triad. We’ve had that established in Australia and that’s been very successful. But what we’ve also demonstrated very successfully is our ability to reach back into the organisation so we really see ourselves as very integrated into the global company.’
Phil Jasper, President of Mission Systems for Collins Aerospace, said one important ADF project is supplying Digital Terminal Control Systems (DTCS) under Project Land 17. The DTCS is used by joint terminal attack controllers and joint forward observers to accurately direct aircraft and artillery attacks on targets. The company was selected for Land 17’s next phase in July 2021, which will ensure this long-term relationship continues for a second decade.
At Avalon Airshow 2023, Collins Aerospace is highlighting its MS-110 airborne reconnaissance pod. Jasper explained it is ideal for ‘the demand we’re seeing across the globe for longer-range, higher-resolution, standoff-type intelligence gathering or surveillance, reconnaissance where you can see farther, detect threats and obscure targets a little bit farther.’ The MS-110 can be fitted on fighters, UAVs or transport aircraft, for example.
The USAF awarded the company a contract for MS-110 pods to be used on fast jets in March 2021. Indeed, the first flight of an MS-110 aboard an F-16 occurred last year.
Another product that Collins Aerospace is highlighting is the Joint Secure Air Combat Training System (JSAS). Jasper elaborated: ‘As we see capabilities in the military throughout the world continue to get more and more advanced, it’s becoming ever-more important to be able to train operators on how to use all of that very sophisticated technology, and it’s not always realistic to expect to do live exercises or live training.’ This could be due to the cost of fuel or the number of assets available, for example.
Therefore, ‘What this JSAS system does, it really allows our customers to work in a live virtual constructive environment. And it allows for a much deeper read. It’s not just a simulator that you’re in; it’s a much deeper integration where you can actually tie in live aircraft with simulators with constructive generated elements as well, to really rehearse more sophisticated, more collaborative operations.’ Training could thus occur at the campaign level, for example.
JSAS is being implemented in the US on training ranges, but it is designed for coalition interoperability.
Space is another domain in which Collins Aerospace works. The bulk of its space business is around human spaceflight, producing things like environmental control and life support systems for spacecraft, exploration-type vehicles and spacesuits. Indeed, last year it was awarded a NASA contract to develop the agency’s next-generation spacesuit.
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