Thales Australia welcomes enhancements to Australian Industry Capability Program
Thales Australia welcomes the strengthening of Defence鈥檚 Australian Industry Capability Program and the Australian Standard for Defence Contracting review announced by the Government today.
For more than 30 years Thales Australia has built a national industrial ecosystem to support the delivery of capability to Australian Defence Force. In 2019 alone Thales Australia spent $522m with 1,362 Australian firms, 70% of which were SMEs.
Thales Australia鈥檚 recent supply chain analysis with AlphaBeta Advisors demonstrated that there is a substantial economic benefit from domestic defence spending, delivering thousands of jobs through hundreds of business across the nation.
Thales Australia CEO Chris Jenkins welcomed the announcement and said there is strong evidence in support of the Government鈥檚 policy of requiring high levels of AIC in acquisition and sustainment programs.
鈥淚ncreasing Australia鈥檚 industrial capability will build Australia鈥檚 self-reliance and the capability of the broader Australian advanced manufacturing sector, which is vital to delivering a capability advantage to the Australian Defence Force.
鈥淭hales has demonstrated that maximising technology transfer to Australia on major Defence projects is a significant driver of growth in Australia鈥檚 industrial capability, boosting investment in SMEs, R&D and delivering long term jobs.鈥
About Thales
Thales in Australia is a trusted partner of the Australian Defence Force and is also present in commercial sectors ranging from air traffic management and ground transport systems to security systems and services. Employing around 3,900 people, Thales in Australia recorded revenues of more than A $1.39 billion in 2018 and export revenue of over A$1.6 billion in the past 10 years.
Thales Australia has a history of patient investment to build advanced in-country capability across manufacturing, critical systems and services. Close collaborative relationships with local customers, Australian SME suppliers and research institutions combined with technology transfer from our global business enables Thales to tailor high quality solutions for Australian and export markets.