Government Supports Thales’ Expansion of Electronic Warfare Capability

Greg Combet, the Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Procurement, today announced that, with support from the Skilling Australia’s Defence Industry (SADI) Program, Thales Australia will commence training in Electronic Warfare capability from next month.

The announcement represents a joint commitment on the part of the Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO) and Thales to spend nearly $2.9 million on specialist training which includes detailed design of key subsystems, systems engineering, installation and operation.

“This initiative will develop and skill our local workforce, as well as providing technology transfer activities that leverage off international Thales programs and improve Australia’s self-reliance in electronic warfare,” Mr Combet said.

“Thales is one of Australia’s largest defence contractors. Employing 3,700 people in over 35 sites around the country, Thales has considerable experience developing electronic systems for joint operations.

“Under the SADI scheme the Australian Government provides financial support for the direct costs of training which, in this instance, accounts for around thirty percent of the total commitment.

“A Thales SADI Agreement was established in July this year and committed Thales to upskilling a total of 2325 staff over the next three years. The Electronic Warfare initiative builds on this bringing Thales’ total training commitment to 2,380 places over the next three years and the Commonwealth’s contribution to just over four million dollars.

“The SADI program has been particularly successful assisting defence industry with the up-skilling of employees and improving the quality and quantity of skills training in defence industry.

“By providing industry with incentives to foster skills growth and development, the SADI initiative offers meaningful support for the specific training needs of the defence sector,” Mr Combet said.