Defending Australia: BAE’s Edinburgh Parks upgrade has our military tech hub ready to fire

More than $25m will be ploughed into expanding a northern suburbs defence industry precinct to help South Australia deliver military tech contracts worth billions.

More than $25m will be ploughed into expanding defence contractor BAE Systems’ northern suburbs precinct to deliver projects including the Evolved SeaSparrow Missile.

More than $25m will be ploughed into expanding the northern suburbs precinct operated by BAE Systems Australia, after the firm secured the nation’s biggest defence export in history.

In a program to be unveiled at The Advertiser’s Defending Australia summit in Canberra on Monday, BAE will upgrade the Edinburgh Parks precinct, 25km north of Adelaide.

It comes as state Defence Minister Stephen Mullighan is hailing a burgeoning new era for the defence industry in Adelaide’s north as companies escalate operations.

BAE’s upgrade will include a new security operations centre to support the AUKUS pact and Jindalee Operational Radar Network (JORN), along with machining facilities for extra missile production.

Canada in March struck at $6.5bn deal to buy the Adelaide-developed JORN, as an early-warning system for incoming missiles – Australia’s biggest-ever export.

BAE last September revealed a $270m deal to significantly boost production of critical components and assemblies for the Evolved SeaSparrow Missile – a surface-to-air missile developed to protect warships from advanced anti-ship cruise missiles.

The Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile protects warships from incoming cruise missiles.

BAE Systems Australia chief executive Craig Lockhart said the defence industry was fully focused on building next-generation platforms in SA for the Australian Defence Force, leading a national effort.

“At Edinburgh Parks, we offer our employees well-paid jobs to create, design, develop and build sophisticated subsystems for enduring sovereign capabilities that are critical to our national security,” he said.

“And these sites are surrounded by a network of trusted industry suppliers, many of them new to the defence sector, who only increase industry resilience as they build and sustain naval, army or air force capability for the ADF.

“That is why investing in Edinburgh Parks facility will ensure BAE Systems remains at the forefront of technology development and manufacturing activity.

“And that means this state and its people are well-placed to capitalise on the sovereign capability journey. I would argue that every state and territory in Australia should have similar ambitions.”

Mr Mullighan said the Edinburgh precinct and Adelaide’s north was a traditional home of the SA defence industry, dating back to the immediate post-war period when the Weapons Research Establishment was founded and BAE entered the Australian market.

But he said the northern suburbs defence industry was entering a new golden era, with expansion by companies including BAE, Saab, Raytheon and Kongsberg.

“There are many thousands of jobs which need to be filled over the coming years, many of them located in the northern suburbs,” Mr Mullighan said.

“So, that’s a key task for us, trying to get as many of those families and their kids involved in that because it will be such a bright future for them.”

“That’s the conversations we want parents to feel confident having with their kids in the future – that they should be looking at the defence industries, whether it shipbuilding or aerospace sort of space industries, that these are highly skilled, really well-paid jobs, but they’re careers for absolutely as long as you want them.”

Flight Lieutenant Jack Corkill was involved in the ADF’s Operation Accordion, a support mission for all activities in the Middle East region.

ADF recruits: We love a life of service

Jack Corkill has been deployed to the Middle East during his career in the Australian Defence Force.

He is among a group of young defence personnel attending The Advertiser’s Defending Australia summit in Canberra on Monday.

In 2022, Flight Lieutenant Corkill was involved in the ADF’s Operation Accordion, a support mission for all activities in the Middle East region.

As an airfield engineering officer, his role was to maintain the runway and infrastructure supporting aircraft.

“People who join the military have an understanding that they could be sent overseas in environments like that,” Flight Lt Corkill, 29, said.

His grandfather was in the military and his father served for more than three decades, but it was when ADF Academy representatives came to his high school that he knew it was his future. He joined in 2014.

Aircraftwoman Isabelle Rehbein, 20, has only been part of the ADF for less than a year, but has already been given the opportunity to fly in an Air Force Spartan military transport aircraft.

“I don’t love flying but it actually felt amazing,” she said.

Aircraftwoman Rehbein thought “why not” join defence following a conversation with her uncle, who had military experience.

Pilot Officer Mekenzie Mulligan, Aircraftwoman Isabelle Rehbein and Leading Aircraftwoman Bethany Finlayson show there are many paths into defence.

She advises young people to try the ADF’s gap year program after high school as it gives them an opportunity to try defence before committing to it long term.

Mekenzie Mulligan, 21, is new to defence after joining less than six months ago, but loves that “no day is the same”.

The pilot officer was studying public relations at university when she joined as she wanted a job that was “challenging and served my country”.

“I wanted to find a way to get some really good experience in the communications and public relations space, but I wanted something more challenging,” Pilot Officer Mulligan said.

She believes the defence force allows young people to “have a seat at the table and can be involved”.

Leading Aircraftwoman Bethany Finlayson followed in her mother’s footsteps as a personnel capability specialist.

“Originally my intention was not to join defence but I wanted to gain life experience,” Ms Finlayson, 20, said.

She had initially planned to become a police officer for “the exciting side of it” but now with more than two years in the defence force she said she had found her place.

“I fell in love with the job so I’m still here,” Ms Finlayson said.

Originally published as Defending Australia: BAE’s Edinburgh Parks upgrade has our military tech hub ready to fire