Tenderers Shortlisted for Helicopter Aircrew Training System for Australian Army, Navy Pilots

Australian Minister for Defence Stephen Smith and Minister for Defence Materiel Dr Mike Kelly today announced that three Tenderers have been selected to progress Project Air 9000 Phase 7 which will provide a new helicopter aircrew training system to meet the future rotary wing training needs of the Australian Defence Force (ADF).

AIR 9000 Phase 7 is an important project which will deliver a new joint helicopter aircrew training system for Army and Navy to be based at Nowra, New South Wales.

This new joint training system will overcome the broadening gap in training systems required for the advanced operational helicopters to be operated by the future ADF, including 22 Tiger Armed Reconnaissance Helicopters, 47 MRH90 Multi-role helicopters, 24 Seahawk Romeo maritime combat helicopters, and 7 CH-47 (F) Chinook medium lift helicopters.

The new joint training system will allow the retirement of 40 Kiowa helicopters operated by Army and 13 Squirrel helicopters operated by Navy. The new training system will comprise a combination of light twin-engine helicopters, with options for basic and advanced avionic systems; a mix of Synthetic Training Devices (Simulators and Part-Task Trainers); new Training, Administration and Warehousing facilities; and Integrated Through Life Support. An Aviation Training Vessel will also be supplied as a component of the new training system through existing Defence Maritime Support arrangements

The three short-listed Tenderers are the teams led by Australian Aerospace Ltd, Boeing Defence Australia Ltd and Raytheon Australia Pty Ltd.

The Request for Tender was issued in early 2012. The three short-listed Tenderers will now enter the second phase of the evaluation, which will include the development and evaluation of final proposals.

A decision on the successful tenderer is expected by mid-2014, with training on the new expected to commence in 2016/17.

The total project value is up to $1 billion.

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Press Release, May 30, 2013