Two weeks ago the Federal Government – Department of Defence – issued a Notice regarding the Enhanced Aerial Surveillance Program. This program operates under the broader Pacific Maritime Security Program which is a whole of government initiative led by Defence designed to support the Pacific and Timor-Leste to protect their security, sovereignty and prosperity in the region. The program covers 15 Pacific Island countries and Timor-Leste.

The subset Aerial Surveillance program provides region wide surveillance, jointly with the Forum Fisheries Agency. The current contract held by Technology Services Corporation (TSC), was awarded in 2018. Engineering Business worked closely with TSC to ensure the success of their tender over a two-stage procurement process, developing key documents such as their Australian Industry Capability Plan. The $10million dollar contract has provided access to 1440 hours of aerial surveillance services each year via two King Air 200 aircraft (pictured).

Defence now seeks to enhance this capability through the introduction of an Unmanned Aerial Surveillance component, and also seek greater capability under the Fixed wing program.

The upcoming procurement opportunities are intended to be split between the following capabilities with the outlined key dates for release:

· Unmanned Aerial Surveillance RFT in Q3 of 2023 and

· Enhanced Fixed Wing RFT to be issued in Q1 of 2024.

A recording of the industry brief, and an outline of the upcoming procurement is provided at the Austender link. There is no requirement to register interest, however if this procurement is suited to your skill set, then this notice provides a great opportunity to engage with potential partners and undertake ‘Tender Readiness’ activities. If you need assistance with this, please get in touch.

If you are after further advice on this topic or any opportunity listed below, feel free to contact us. You can also subscribe to this newsletter for regular weekly updates.