JORN to get $1.2bn upgrade
The federal government has handed BAE Systems Australia a $1.2 billion contract to vastly upgrade the Jindalee Operational Radar Network (JORN), an over-the-horizon radar system which detects and tracks air and maritime targets in Australia’s northern approaches.
The project will take 10 years to complete and will support more than 500 highly technical jobs.
“This upgrade will ensure the Australian Defence Force is well equipped with a world-leading over-the-horizon surveillance capability,” said the Minister for Defence Marise Payne.
“The JORN Radar System is testament to the ingenuity, dedication and collaboration of Air Force operators, Australian scientists and Australian industry over more than 50 years. It represents world-leading technology that is unmatched by any other country.”
The three JORN radar sites are located in Longreach, Laverton (WA) and Alice Springs, and are controlled from the JORN Coordination Centre at RAAF Base Edinburgh (SA).
The upgrade is part of Project AIR 2025 Phase 6, which aims to ensure that JORN continues to protect Australia’s borders beyond 2040.
“The upgraded JORN system will be 100% designed, developed and delivered in Australia, by Australians,” said the Minister for Defence Industry Christopher Pyne.
“BAE Systems will take Australian Defence Science and Technology research advancements from the lab to the operational environment,” he added.
Two hundred new positions will be created in BAE Systems and through the supply chain, with most jobs positioned in the Edinburgh Defence Precinct in Adelaide’s northern suburbs.
Minister Pyne added that the project will see a significant investment in the Alice Springs JORN site and dozens of jobs maintained across the regional network at the sites in the Northern Territory, Queensland and Western Australia.
To complete the contract, BAE Systems Australia will partner with Raytheon Australia, Daronmont Technologies and RCR Tomlinson.
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