Late last year, Babcock was contracted to manage the ADF’s long-range high-frequency
(HF) communications network. The deal, awarded on 21 October 2022 and worth AUD877 million (USD559.6 million), covers ten years, but with four extension options of two years each.
It entails, from October this year, Babcock supporting Australia’s existing HF network,
plus rolling out a comprehensive technological upgrade. HF systems are used to communicate internally and with coalition partners via voice and data almost anywhere in the world.
This programme is called Joint Project 9101 (JP9101) Enhanced Defence High-Frequency
Communications System. Babcock had been declared preferred tenderer in December 2021, and commercial discussions had been ongoing after that.
Babcock will integrate its Intelligent Network and Serial Protocol Interface for Radio Equipment (INSPIRE) solution. It is being assisted by partner Lockheed Martin Australia, who will support the delivery of
mission system elements.
Babcock already provides similar HF networks to New Zealand and the UK, so Australia is another feather in Babcock’s HF cap.
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