Leonardo continues to invest in Australia by opening a new site in Western Australia, through its subsidiary Selex ES Australia Pty Ltd. The addition of this new site confirms Leonardo’s commitment to growing its industrial footprint in Australia beyond its current presence in Melbourne in Victoria and Nowra in New South Wales. Further expansion is planned over the forthcoming 18 months. The new opening was announced at Pacific 2017, an international maritime exposition in Sydney, Australia.

The new facility is located in Rockingham, South of Perth and will be the regional hub for engineering, integration, installation and through life support. Proximity to the Hendersen shipyards and Garden Island will allow Leonardo to be highly responsive on naval programmes. It will also allow Leonardo to team with Western Australian companies and build up a local workforce with specialist skills particularly in defence electronics that will complement the already strong shipbuilding capabilities in the area.

The new site will also play a key role in Leonardo’s delivery as prime system integrator of the SEA1442 phase 4 solution. Under the programme, Leonardo will provide an integrated suite of state-of-the-art communications capabilities for the upgrade and modernisation of Australia’s ANZAC frigates.

The solution includes enhanced external RF communications and internal communications equipment, the provision of a high-data-rate-line-of-sight bearer and the introduction of a modern communications management system.

The capability upgrade will lay the foundation for a maritime architecture critical to future tactical communications for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). It will also contribute towards the Australian Defence Force’s network-centric warfare concept in the maritime environment, helping reach the goal of a truly networked RAN.

Michael Lenton, Executive Chairman of Selex ES Australia said: “The facility is another example of Leonardo’s commitment towards Australia where the company has been active since it first supplied torpedoes to the Navies of Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia in 1885. Over many years, Leonardo has been building a considerable legacy in Australia through the supply of solutions, products and services for both the defence and civil markets. It is a long-term effort we are immensely proud of and intend to build on going forward.

“Leonardo is serious about its investment in Australia and has taken big steps over the past 12 months to significantly grow local capability as well as building and strengthening the national supply chain. Leonardo has been able to grasp the opportunities around the recent thrust in naval capability procurement and we are intent on demonstrating that our local investment in skills and people is as intense as our transfer of technology from our global operations, even ahead of the next round of naval contracts.”