Babcock Australasia has officially commenced operation of the Defence High Frequency Communications System (DHFCS), providing operation, management and maintenance upgrades to support our service men and women on critical operations in Australia – and overseas.
As the Commonwealth’s industry partner under JP9101 (Enhanced Defence High Frequency Communications System), Babcock is leading the operation and support of the existing DHFCS capability, while delivering a comprehensive technology upgrade over the initial 10-year contract period.
The $877m program is Babcock Australasia’s single largest-ever contract to date, set to equip the Australian Defence Force with leading-edge capability.
The project is creating more than 150 high-tech jobs across Australia, the majority of which are Adelaide-based at the company’s new Keswick office. Staff will also be situated across regional centres including Exmouth, Wagga Wagga, Townsville, Darwin, as well as support facilities in Canberra. Through this agreement, the Commonwealth has joined the New Zealand and United Kingdom Governments in selecting Babcock as their partner of choice in the engineering, operation and support of long range, resilient strategic High Frequency communications.
Babcock Australasia Managing Director Mission and Support Systems Brad Yelland said the JP9101 contract establishes Babcock as the largest provider of strategic High Frequency Communications in the world.
“We’re really excited to be officially embarking on the critical High Frequency Communications Systems upgrade for the Australian Defence Force,” said Mr Yelland.
“The importance of effective, reliable and resilient communication in the modern threat environment cannot be understated.
“The new system will provide the ADF and its allies with an enhanced communications capability with levels of reliability and operational resilience not seen before within this technology domain.
“Through Babcock, our service men and women will have the ability to securely communicate using voice and data to almost anywhere on Earth.”
Babcock’s key partners and suppliers on this strategic program include Lockheed Martin Australia, Ventia, Ebor, CyberCX, Daronmont, Rohde & Schwarz and Antenna Products Corporation.
At the heart of the solution is Babcock’s Intelligent Network and Serial Protocol Interface for Radio Equipment (INSPIRE), which provides a step-change in ease of upgrade and re-configuration that will ensure Australia’s EDHFCS will remain current and ready to support the ADF whenever and wherever it is needed.
In a further boost to the program, Babcock recently welcomed Mike Trenery to the team as the Babcock Australasia’s Program Director for High Frequency Communications programs.
Mr Trenery comes to Babcock with over 30 years of Defence experience across multiple strategic and complex programs in the communications and maritime disciplines.