Boeing, BAE, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Northrop among big seven defence firms in South Australia, 2023
Boeing Defence Australia originally set up in South Australia in 2015 to support the fleet of P-8A Poseidon aircraft (pictured) based at RAAF Base Edinburgh, north of Adelaide.
Image courtesy Boeing Defence Australia
Boeing Defence Australia celebrated its South Australian operations reaching 250 local employees, just six years since the company first established in the state in 2015. Boeing Defence Australia originally set up in South Australia to support the P-8A Poseidon fleet at RAAF Base Edinburgh, north of Adelaide.
In addition to 120 staff at RAAF Base Edinburgh, more than 140 staff at the company’s Adelaide city operations supported national defence and aerospace projects including the world-leading E-7A Wedgetail airborne early warning and control platform and the Wakulda air battle management system.
Boeing Defence Australia, part of a company with more than 150,000 employees in the United States of America and 65 other countries, was one seven of the top 10 defence companies in the world in 2023. The others were:
BAE Systems Aerospace, a security and multinational arms company 40 countries, had South Australia as home to projects including F-35 joint strike fighter, advanced manufacturing, upgrading the Jindalee operational radar system and the Hunter Class frigate program.
• Lockheed Martin Australia, a subsidiary of the American-owned security and aerospace company, focused on integrating the most advanced technology systems across domains including cyber, land, sea, air and space, with a large Australian national security presence extending 70 years.
• Raytheon Technologies Australia, established in 1999, partnered with the Australian defence force on sovereign guided weapons, space and mission systems, underwater systems, above-water systems and joint battlespace systems.
• Northrop Grumman, an Australian-led company, working with the Australian defence force to maintain Pacific-region and border security. Its 800-plus employees across 10 sites in Australia worked in fields including space, defence, cyberspace and aeronautics.
• General Dynamics Land Systems Australia was prime contractor to the Australian defence force in supporting their armoured fighting vehicle fleets.
• L3Harris, proving global aerospace and defence technology across air, land, sea, space and cyber domains with 47,000 employees globally, opened its first Adelaide city office at Lot Fourteen in 2019 to deliver advanced mission solutions.
