Leidos Australia has confirmed it has teamed with Israel’s Aeronautics Ltd to offer the Aeronautics Orbiter 4 unmanned aerial system as part of its Project LAND 129 Phase 3 bid to replace the Australian Army’s Shadow 200 system.

The teaming announcement comes just two weeks after Leidos was announced as one of four companies shortlisted to respond to a Request for Tender (RFT) which is due to submitted by July 3.  

“Leidos conducted an exhaustive search to identify capable platforms in class that can provide optimum capabilities to the Australian Army,” acting Leidos Australia Chief Executive, Paul Chase said in an April 6 statement. “We are excited to have Aeronautics join our team. We look forward to combining the capabilities of both companies to create a highly-qualified team with a strong technology footprint in Australia.” 

CEO of Aeronautics Group, Moshe Elazar added, “We are excited to team with Leidos and offer our advanced capabilities to the Australian Army. We are also determined to have an exceptionally positive impact on the Australian industry by further developing local skills and capabilities whilst giving access to our global supply chain.” Aeronautics is a subsidiary of Rafael.

The Leidos statement says ‘the strategic partnership will bring together Leidos’ global leadership in Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) integration, and Aeronautics’ deep experience as a leading supplier of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) to deliver a next generation, tactical solution for the Australian Army.’

Leidos has established a partner portal and is seeking expressions of interest from Australian industry to join their LAND 129 Phase 3 bid team. Small to medium enterprises with skills in composite manufacturing, payloads for Tier 2 UAVs, mechanical assembly, training services, warehousing support, logistics support, UAV operations and maintenance support can register their interest by May 14 via https://www.leidos.com/company/global/australia/partner-network.