Australia to procure electronic warfare systems to strengthen ADF

The Australian Government has approved the Land Force Level Electronic Warfare Project for its Bushmaster protected mobility vehicles.

The project involves the fitting of electronic warfare (EW) systems onto the vehicles to increase the capabilities of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). 

The government has selected Raytheon Australia to deliver the Force Level Electronic Warfare System Project.

Australian Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy said: “The government is committed to increasing the ADF’s ability to operate and fight in complex electromagnetic environments.

“This new capability will give our land force a better range of options to continue to pursue our interests in our region and deter, defeat, and deny attacks and threats against Australia.”

He added: “The project will complement air and maritime force level electronic warfare systems, further enhancing these capabilities when deployed in combination as a joint force.”

The A$75m ($50.94m) project falls under Project Land 555 Phase 6.

The government has also decided to involve the local industry in handling various aspects of the project including supply, training, and maintenance support.

Conroy said: “The project will inject more than A$46m ($31.24m) into Australian industry, contributing to strengthening our sovereign defence industrial base, supporting delivery of multiple sovereign industrial capability priorities, and growing the skills of our local workforce.”

In 2018, Raytheon and Australia’s Defence Science and Technology (DST) signed an interactive project agreement to jointly develop and prototype advanced EW capabilities for the ADF.

The deal required Raytheon to provide the DST with its multi-function receiver exciter system (MFIRES) test bench, a control system, and a modelling and simulation environment.