Cobham Aviation Services Australia and Adelaide-based Acacia Systems have signed a 10-year agreement to develop advanced mission management systems for special mission aircraft.
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Acacia Systems recently supplied and installed a state-of-the-art mission management systems on the four search-and-rescue Challenger-604 aircraft modified and integrated by Cobham, which now operate on behalf of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) under a 12-year, $640 million contract.
Cobham vice president, special mission, Ken Millar said, "We are delighted to enter into this agreement with Acacia Systems. Not only are they a fantastic South Australian based defence SME with highly-skilled workers, they have a proven track record of developing and installing systems and software for Tier 1 national assets. We look forward to collaborating on more national scale projects in the years ahead."
Cobham deploys highly-modified aircraft and specially-trained crew to conduct airborne surveillance and search-and-rescue operations for the Australian government. The modification and integration of these aircraft is undertaken in-house by Cobham in Australia using numerous local SMEs, such as Acacia Systems.
Acacia Systems founder and chairman Ted Huber welcomed the continued agreement, saying, "This signing formalises a decade-long working relationship. We are extremely proud of the work we have done with Cobham to date and thrilled to enter into a strategic partnership with a like-minded organisation for the future."
For more than 25 years, Cobham has been conducting surveillance on behalf of the Australian government to protect the nation’s borders. The strategic partnership with Acacia Systems is timely as Cobham prepares for the upcoming Australian border surveillance tender.
Cobham Aviation Services is the largest provider of contract aviation services in Australia. As a company, Cobham conducts closed charter (fly-in, fly-out), passenger transport, freight, search and rescue, and airborne surveillance and surveying operations for Defence, government and commercial customers.
Supporting the Australian Defence Force since 1992, Acacia is a defence software and systems engineering company engaged primarily in developing advanced mission management systems and tactical support applications.
The company maintains a significant depth of skills in the areas of data fusion, tracking, sensor performance, data analysis and environmental mathematical modelling. Translating these into advanced deployed systems is achieved through the application of disciplined systems, software and hardware engineering practice.