Peter Dutton flies under radar in drone deal

Peter Dutton gave the green light days before the election for the purchase – without an open tender process – of ­reconnaissance drones used by China and Russia.

Defence will purchase 40 of the Austrian-made Schiebel S100 Camcopter drones in the first batch of aircraft to be supplied under a larger $1.3bn program for the Royal Australian Navy. Source: ADF

Defence Minister Peter Dutton gave the green light days before the election for the purchase, without an open tender process, of ­reconnaissance drones used by China and Russia.

Defence will purchase an initial 40 of the Austrian-made Schiebel S100 Camcopter drones in the first batch of aircraft to be supplied under a larger $1.3bn program for the Royal Australian Navy.

They will be carried by the navy’s Arafura-class offshore ­patrol boats and Anzac frigates for “intelligence, surveillance, ­reconnaissance and targeting”. Defence said the decision to buy without going to market would speed up the plan by 18 months and “deliver capability earlier”.

The unarmed helicopter drone, which was chosen over US and British rivals, is also made under ­licence by Russia and has been purchased by China for use on its guided missile destroyers.

The decision, made before the election caretaker period commenced, follows the government’s shock decision to cancel the purchase of the US-made SkyGuard­ian, which would have become the nation’s first armed combat drone.

A Defence spokeswoman said thorough due diligence checks were undertaken on the drone, and the department was aware of which nations used the aircraft.

“The S-100 is operated by over 16 maritime organisations on 17 classes of ships around the world,” the spokeswoman said.

US defence giant Raytheon has been appointed as the “system ­integrator”, and the drone will be fitted with “significantly different mission sensors” to those used by other countries.

Labor defence industry spokesman Matt Keogh said the drone was one that “Russian and Chinese forces use, have the intellectual property of, and know how to counter”. He said an Australian-based company should have been awarded the contract, to ensure the security of the system.

“Fundamental to our national security is our national resilience and sovereign capability,” Mr Keogh said.

But Defence said the fact that Australia’s potential adversaries operated versions of the aircraft would not place them at risk on ­operations. “Defence has robust processes to ensure any platform introduced into service does not create vulnerabilities,” the spokeswoman said.

Australian Strategic Policy ­Institute senior analyst Marcus Hellyer said the acquisition was “not a good look”, given it was also used by the nation’s potential ­enemies, and it was “ironic we are getting a maritime drone from a landlocked country”.

“Is the fact that China and Russia use them a vulnerability in ­itself? I don’t know,” he said. “You would hope Defence has done a good analysis of any cyber vulnerabilities and ­addressed them.

“The drone is just the air vehicle that carries a bunch of sensors. For a lot of them you can put on whichever sensor you like. You buy the drone and then integrate the sensor package you want.”

Defence had already short-­listed five companies for the contract – Northrop Grumman Australia, Raytheon Australia, Boeing subsidiary Insitu Pacific, Textron Systems, and BAE Systems Australia.

The companies were informed last week that Schiebel had been given the contract, and the program “will not proceed with an open request for tender”.

“I appreciate that this decision will be disappointing to you and your team as down-selected ­respondents to the SEA129 Phase 5 Invitation to Register,” it told the companies.

Defence had previously purchased three S-100s for testing, and going ahead with the procurement without a tender would ­“advance the initial operating capability by 18 months”, the spokeswoman said.

“Accelerating Australia’s acquisition of remote and autonomous systems is critical,” she said.