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Six BAE Systems Australia technicians will travel to the US for the second time for further training to support the nation’s fleet of F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft.
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The technicians will receive on-the-job training at Luke Air Force Base with the Lockheed Martin contractor field team and, as part of the course, will assist with the completion of modifications on one of Australia's F-35 aircraft.
Andrew Chapman, aircraft sustainment general manager for BAE Systems Australia, said that the group of six will feature a "mix of trades", and will "assist with structural aspects that need minor modifications as they move to post-production stages".
"The work that the team will do will ultimately flow across all the Royal Australian Air Force aircraft at Luke Air Base," Chapman confirmed.
"After the three weeks that the team of six spend over in the US, they will be implementing those predominantly structural modifications on the aircraft in Australia.
"This will be done in-country with the RAAF, which is perfect."
A group of eight technicians received 13 weeks of training at Fort Worth in 2018, with that original group also featuring a mix of trades.
That training was conducted by Lockheed Martin in the production environment, and BAE said that these training programs "will further improve their proficiency in supporting the Australia’s Joint Strike Fighter fleet".
"Our focus is to ensure that the capability of the team aligns with the requirements of the RAAF as the F-35 aircraft arrive in Australia and are brought into service," said BAE Systems Australia chief executive Gabby Costigan.
"This team will lead our depot workforce and the training they receive will help keep us ahead of the curve as we build the capability of our workforce.
"They will train future staff as we ramp up our capability and capacity, working side-by-side with RAAF personnel at the Williamtown base.”
BAE Systems will support up to six dedicated F-35 maintenance bays when all of the nation's 72 aircraft are delivered, with the bays to employ around 100 people.
US government's F-35 Joint Program Office assigned component maintenance repair overhaul and upgrade (MRO&U) work to the company in February as part of a broader assignment for Australia in the Asia-Pacific region.
"There is very much an enterprise view being taken by RAAF, JSF division, Lockheed Martin and BAE Systems to make the program as a whole, globally, work. But also in this particular neck of the woods as the aircraft numbers build up, so it’s very much a collegiate activity that we’re undertaking to achieve the outcomes that Defence needs," Chapman said.
The Australian companies or Australia-based subsidiaries that won a role in the program in February include:
