Thales Australia Welcomes Enhancements to Australian Industry Capability Programme

CANBERRA: Thales Australia lauded the strengthening of the Australian Industry Capability (AIC) Programme and the Australian Standard for Defence Contracting review announced by the government Sept 18.

For more than 30 years, Thales Australia has built a national industrial ecosystem to support the delivery of capability to the Australian Defence Force. In 2019 alone Thales Australia spent $522 million with 1,362 Australian firms, 70% of which were SMEs.

Thales Australia’s 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’s policy of requiring high levels of AIC in acquisition and sustainment programmes.

“Increasing Australia’s industrial capability will build Australia’s 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.

“Thales has demonstrated that maximising technology transfer to Australia on major Defence projects is a significant driver of growth in Australia’s industrial capability, boosting investment in SMEs, R&D and delivering long-term jobs,” he added. –aaa/mgm