Babcock Australasia has officially kicked off the operation of the Defence High-Frequency Communications System (DHFCS), delivering operational, management, and maintenance enhancements to military men and women on crucial operations in Australia and throughout the world.
Babcock is handling the operation and support of the current DHFCS capabilities while providing a major technology upgrade throughout the initial 10-year contract duration as the Commonwealth’s industry partner under JP9101 (Enhanced Defence High-Frequency Communications System).
The $877 million program is Babcock Australasia’s largest-ever contract to date, and it will provide the Australian Defence Force with cutting-edge capability, the company revealed in a news release.
The initiative will generate more than 150 high-tech jobs across Australia, with the majority of them headquartered in Adelaide at the company’s new Keswick headquarters.
Staff will also be stationed in regional centres including Exmouth, Wagga Wagga, Townsville, Darwin, and Canberra, as well as support facilities.
The Commonwealth has joined the governments of New Zealand and the United Kingdom in selecting Babcock as its preferred partner in the engineering, operation, and maintenance of long-range, robust strategic High-Frequency communications.
According to Brad Yelland, Managing Director Mission and Support Systems at Babcock Australasia, the JP9101 contract puts Babcock as the world’s largest provider of strategic High Frequency Communications.
“We’re really excited to be officially embarking on the critical High-Frequency Communications Systems upgrade for the Australian Defence Force,” said Yelland.
He said that the value of effective, dependable, and resilient communication in today’s threat environment cannot be overstated.
“The new system will provide the ADF and its allies with an enhanced communications capability with levels of reliability and operational resilience not seen before within this technology domain,” Yelland explained.
He added, “Through Babcock, our service men and women will have the ability to securely communicate using voice and data to almost anywhere on Earth.”
Lockheed Martin Australia, Ventia, Ebor, CyberCX, and Daronmont are among Babcock’s key partners in this critical program.
