Australia inks $582.5 million deal with Boeing to upgrade aircraft

The $582.5 million deal with Boeing Defense Australia was announced Wednesday by Marise Payne, minister for defense, and Christopher Pyne, minister for defense industry, in a Royal Australian Air Force news release.

"The Wedgetail is a modified Boeing 737-700, with the addition of advanced Multi-Role Electronically Scanned Array radar and 10 mission crew consoles," Pyne said in a statement. "It is one of the most advanced pieces of aerospace technology in the Australian Defense Force.

In addition to the new sensors, the Royal Australian Air Force's aircraft will receive tactical data links and communication and encryption systems.

"The upgrades are an important step in maintaining a potent Australia air combat force and will ensure continued interoperability with Australian allies including the United States and North Atlantic Treaty Organization members,'' Payne said in a statement.

The project will be completed by mid-2022.

Boeing receives contract for U.S., Australian F/A-18 environmental systems
Washington (UPI) Jul 5, 2017 - Boeing has received an $8 million contract for engineering support and retrofitting for software improvements to environmental control systems of U.S. Navy and Royal Australian Navy F/A-18 aircraft.

The contract will provide for Environmental Control System Controller Software Improvements to the ECSs of F/A-18E/F fighter and E/A-18G electronic warfare aircraft, the Department of Defense announced on Monday.

Work will be conducted in Windsor Locks, Conn., El Segundo, Calif., and St. Louis, Mo. The retrofitting is expected to be completed by March 2020. Fiscal 2017 Navy aircraft procurement and foreign military sales funds of $8 million are being obligated upon award.

The F/A-18 series of fighter planes has had a history of reported incidents with oxygen and environmental control systems, leading to hypoxia-like symptoms and other debilitating conditions that can be dangerous in flight.

Similar problems with T-46 training aircraft and F-35 Lightning II fighters, as well as the F/A-18, under testing have led to multiple recent groundings of aircraft. The U.S. Navy is conducting comprehensive reviews of the problem.

The F/A-18 Super Hornet is the primary carrier and land-based multi-role fighter of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. It has been widely exported and is expected to serve for decades to come alongside the F-35. The E/A-18G Growler is an electronic warfare jamming, anti-radar variant of the series.