Boeing Defence Australia (BDA) has announced its major teaming partners for the ADF’s Joint Project (JP)9102 SATCOM System Program.

The company has previously brought in Saber and ClearBox, but has now added Leidos Australia, Viasat and the Indigenous Defence and Infrastructure Consortium (IDIC) to its team.

JP9102 is seeking to deliver a sovereign satellite communications capability to the ADF over and above that provided by the USAF’s wideband global satellite (WGS) constellation, and the sovereign payload carried by the Optus C-1 satellite.

The 2020 Force Structure Plan notes, “The combination of an increasing reliance on space capabilities with the capacity limitations of Australia’s legacy systems must be addressed.” To this end, the commonwealth has committed about $7 billion towards space capabilities over the next decade and, under JP 9102, up to $3 billion will be spent to enhance SATCOM out to 2029, creating the Australian Defence SATCOM System (ADSS).

“Boeing is committed to providing a modern sovereign solution to the ADF with high confidence on schedule and cost,” BDA emerging markets director, Matt Buckle said in a June 24 release. “To deliver this, we are partnering with strong businesses who offer best-in-class capability here in country.”

The release says Leidos will provide cyber, security, network integration services and software development environments and cyber test ranges; Viasat will bring 25 years of Australian satellite program experience to the team; and IDIC will help find opportunities for Indigenous-owned and -controlled businesses on JP9102 by aligning discrete work packages to their capabilities as well as supporting capability growth.