South Australians will play a crucial role in maintaining and supporting the Royal Australian Air Force’s P-8A Poseidon aircraft at RAAF Base Edinburgh, after a new deal was signed with Boeing Defence Australia which is creating 40 new jobs.
Minister for Defence Industry Melissa Price said Boeing’s six-year contract would deliver support services to deliver cutting-edge surveillance and response capabilities.
“The initial $300 million contract provides a highly experienced maintenance, engineering and logistics workforce to Defence,” Minister Price said.
“This will grow the workforce to over 160 from Boeing and their sub-contracted personnel from Airbus Australia Pacific, delivering vital services to the P-8A capability.”
Minister Price said Boeing and Airbus Australia Pacific’s continued industry partnership had provided support arrangements for the P-8A Poseidon since July 2016.
“Our Australian workforce is vital to the continued sustainment and upgrades which are critical to the Poseidon’s capabilities,” Minister Price said.
The delivery of the 12th P-8A Poseidon to a newly upgraded airfield and support infrastructure at RAAF Base Edinburgh was announced in December 2019.
This new contract provides the essential Australian industry capacity necessary to operate and maintain these advanced aircraft and their systems.
