Global defence giant Northrop Grumman will build $50 million ‘centre of excellence’ at Badgerys Creek Airport
PM Malcolm Turnbull this morning hailed the plans of an American defence contractor to build a $50m centre of excellence at the new Badgerys Creek airport.
NSW
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A GLOBAL defence giant will build a $50 million centre of excellence employing 500 people at the new Badgerys Creek airport, in a coup for Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s jobs pitch in the crucial political battleground of Western Sydney.
Mr Turnbull has today announced that Northrop Grumman, a major US defence firm which had a revenue of $24.5 billion last year, will be the first tenant in a new hi-tech defence and aerospace hub at the airport.
“This is a very key element in our defence plan and a key part of our plan for western Sydney,” Mr Turnbull said, as he visited Richmond RAAF Base with NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian.
“We have been a big customer for defence capabilities but we have not built enough defence material here in Australia and not been a big enough part of global supply chains - we are changing that.”
Ms Berejiklian said the centre would mean “jobs, jobs and more jobs” for Western Sydney and help attract more investment in the region.
“NSW will have the capacity to be a regional centre for what is a fast-growing and much necessary technology,” she said alongside the prime minister at Richmond RAAF Base.
“It is the start of something really great.”
Northrop’s $50 million Electronic Sustainment Centre of Excellence will form an Australian capability to support electronic warfare equipment and advanced electronics.
It will also maintain and service aircraft and systems, including the F35 Joint Strike Fighter and the highly-advanced reconnaissance drone, the MQ-4C Triton.
Mr Turnbull has committed $5.3 billion to build Sydney’s second airport, creating 20,000 direct and indirect jobs in the region by the early 2030s.
This morning’s announcement kicked off a week-long tour of selling his Budget to Western Sydney as he bids to win over marginal seat voters.
The federal Budget had a clear focus on providing funding to help families in Western Sydney, including $3.6 billion additional funding for the region’s schools, NDIS funds for 32,458 residents, a $200 million package to upgrade local roads, tax cuts for 136,165 small and medium businesses and $25 million for preschool education, helping 20,091 children in Western Sydney.
The funding drive is part of an effort by both the federal and state government to encourage businesses to invest in Western Sydney, and turn the region into its own economic powerhouse.
On Mr Turnbull’s recent New York visit to meet US President Donald Trump, he was welcomed to the stage at a gala dinner by Northrop Grumman chairman, chief executive and president Wesley Bush.
In the Budget, Mr Turnbull increased defence spending to 2 per cent of GDP by 2020-21, with $32.3 billion spent on defence this year and $142.9 billion over the next four years.
Northrop Grumman, which has an Australian subsidiary Northrop Grumman Australia, has been supplying military equipment and intelligence and surveillance capabilities to the Australian government, which has indicated it intends to buy up to seven MQ-4C Triton aircraft systems for maritime patrol and surveillance.
Northrop Grumman will aim to forge relationships with universities to train high-skilled technicians to help create future jobs in the Western Sydney region.
Northrop Grumman International president Dave Perry said that the Turnbull government’s focus on defence spending had led to the company’s decision to double its employment in Australia to 1000.
“The government’s strong commitment to grow the defence industry in Australia gave us the confidence to make this significant investment in Western Sydney,” he said.
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