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Boeing has identified several Australian companies to manufacture parts for its JP 9102 defence satellite communications program.
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The aerospace giant announced that it will be selecting a number of Brisbane-based companies to be involved in its supply chain process, in a further investment into the Australian space manufacturing industry.
This is in addition to the manufacturing companies that partnered with Boeing back in February. These companies include Quickstep, Cablex, Ferra, Nupress, Crystalaid and Lovitt.
“In February, Boeing announced a $5 million development program to build Australian space capability and we’re now actively evaluating Australian suppliers for their compatibility to support satellite production for Boeing’s operation in El Segundo, California,” said Kathryn Burr, Boeing Defence Australia’s JP 9102 program manager.
As part of the process to identify suitable companies to join Boeing’s JP 9102 program as manufacturers, Boeing examined the companies’ staff, facilities, procedures, equipment, parts management, processes and quality controls.
“This investment is being made ahead of the JP 9102 down-select decision with a view to building Australia’s broader space manufacturing capability and potentially open doors to Boeing’s global supply chain,” said Burr.
One of the companies selected to work with Boeing in February, Quickstep, has already begun to strengthen the partnership, recently visiting Boeing headquarters in the US.
The trip was used “to get a deep understanding of capital, tooling and materials to perform test work for space parts along with intellectual property transfer requirements,” said Burr.
Quickstep CEO and managing director Mark Burgess said that Boeing’s JP 9102 program was a significant manufacturing opportunity for the Australian industry and would provide a range of benefits to Quickstep and other Australian manufacturers.
“Boeing’s proposal is directly aligned to the requirements of the National Space Manufacturing roadmap and would create more than 50 jobs at Quickstep and, as important, create the capability for Australian industry to build and test satellite structures locally,” said Burgess.
Boeing anticipates further engagement in the Australian space manufacturing industry, with hopes to create a large supplier base within Australia.
“Space manufacturing is a relatively new industry for Australia, so most of the manufacturers we are speaking to are eager about the opportunity to begin building space products,” said Burr.
“We are continually working to identify Australian suppliers who have the capability to develop a range of space products from complex bus, payload and solar array composite structural assemblies to circuit card assemblies, harnesses, and various mechanism and machine part assemblies.”
Boeing is competing against a host of other major contractors for the JP 9102 project, including Airbus, Lockheed Martin Australia, Northrop Grumman Australia, and Optus.
The JP 9102 tender closed on 10 January.
[Related: Lockheed Martin Australia, Clearbox Systems mark new step in JP9102 push]
