Minister for Defence Industry Christopher Pyne officially announced nearly $600 million worth of funding for upgrades to the E-7A Wedgetail project this morning at Williamtown RAAF Base.
The Wedgetail is considered one of the most advanced pieces of equipment in the RAAF and is used extensively in the Middle East in the military effort against Islamic State.
The funding for upgrades to the Wedgetail will improve its early warning and control capabilities.
Defence Industry Minister Christopher Pyne says our nation's defence is of top priority and we need to keep improving it to keep up with and get ahead, of our opponents."It is the most advanced and sophisticated airborne battle management centre in the world today and provides radar, communications, battlefield intelligence to our fighting forces and of course is serving right now in the middle east in Syria and Iraq,"
"We have to keep improving its capabilities and keep upgrading it and keep working out what our opponents might be trying to find in terms of weaknesses in the system, meeting those and then beating them down the track so this investment, this $600 million will mean jobs here at Williamtown, at Amberley and in Brisbane as a part of our ongoing commitment to doing as much of this increase of our capability here in Australia," said Defence Industry Minister Christopher Pyne.
Around 45 jobs will be created at Williamtown for the upgrade.
He says the Government is confident they can meet threats into the future, in addition to the upgrades for Wedgetail, a logistics centre for training, operations and skills was also officially opened today as a part of the Williamtown RAAF base upgrades. A joint strike fighter will be housed there by 2018.
The Government sees the RAAF Base as one of the most significant bases in Australia in terms of defence and will continue upgrading it to ensure it is fit for defence well into the future.
