WinnCad Elements Blog: BAE Systems awarded $35 million contract for Nulka Ship Decoy Systems by DMO

Monday, June 21, 2010

BAE Systems awarded $35 million contract for Nulka Ship Decoy Systems by DMO

About 130 Australian Defence industry jobs will be shored up under a new ship decoy contract awarded to BAE Systems, the Minister for Defence Materiel and Science Greg Combet said today.

The company has been awarded its 12th consecutive contract for the Nulka decoy, guaranteeing production and Defence industry jobs around the country until at least 2013.

Australia’s Air Warfare Destroyer will also be protected by the Nulka Active Missile Decoy System.

Mr Combet said that the new contract was good news for local Defence industry, for local jobs and for Australia’s servicemen and women serving in the Royal Australian Navy.

“The Nulka decoy project is Australia’s largest regular Defence export and one of our most successful electronic warfare projects,” Mr Combet said.

The project has generated export earnings of more than $500 million and employs approximately 130 Australians across a number of states, including Victoria, NSW and South Australia.

The Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO) has awarded BAE Systems a 12th successive annual contract to produce additional rounds for the world’s most effective soft kill anti-ship missile defence – Nulka.

Under the AUD $40 million contract, BAE Systems Australia will produce additional rounds for use by the Australian, United States and Canadian navies.

Simon Forrest, BAE Systems Program Manager, confirmed that this latest follow-on order (known as Option 20) would see production extended to 2013.

Nulka is a rocket propelled active decoy system designed to lure anti-ship missiles away from their intended target.

Originally conceived in Australia, and developed under a joint Australian-US program, it provides warships with a highly effective all-weather defence against anti-ship missiles, bringing together hovering rocket, autonomous system and electronic technologies.

BAE Systems is the prime contractor responsible for design, development and integration of the Nulka system.

Two US sub-contractors, Lockheed Martin and Aerojet, manufacture the electronic warfare payload and the rocket motor respectively.

Mr Forrest confirmed that in April this year BAE Systems completed, on time and on budget, delivery of the Option 17 production rounds which had been contracted in 2007.

“This represents another very solid year of achievement by our manufacturing group based in South Australia and our principal US-based sub-contractors,” he said.

To date, 940 Nulka rounds have been produced. Later this year we will complete production of the 1000th round, which will be a very significant program milestone.

“Its deployment on more than 130 surface combat ships is a testament to the trust that the US, Canadian and Australian navies place in the system,” Mr Forrest said.

Nulka is also Australia's largest and most successful regular defence export, with earnings of more than AUD $800 million over the past two decades.