THE HON. GREG COMBET MP
Minister for Defence Personnel, Materiel and Science
Tuesday, 15 September 2009
062/2009
GLOBAL COMMUNICATIONS FOR DEPLOYED FORCES
Greg Combet, the Minister for Defence Personnel, Materiel and Science,
today announced the awarding of a defence contract that will lead to improved
global communications for our deployed forces.
“The contract, awarded to BAE systems, is for the construction of three new
Satellite Communications Earth Terminals at the Australian Defence Satellite
and Communications Station near Geraldton in Western Australia,” said Mr
Combet.
“The contract also includes five years of support for the new terminals and an
enhanced network management system to enable the terminals to be
controlled remotely from HMAS HARMAN in Canberra.
“The completion of the new capability in 2013 will significantly enhance the
wideband strategic communications support available to Australian forces
overseas. This includes those forces on distant deployments in the Middle
East and also on operations closer to home in the Indian and Pacific Oceans,”
Mr Combet said.
“This facility will dramatically increase the amount of data that will be able to
be provided over the Wideband Global Satellite (WGS) System that Australia
accesses, through a partnership with the United States Department of
Defence.”
The value of the contract is $94 million.
Media contacts:
Rod Hilton (Greg Combet):
02 6277 4771 or 0458 276 619
Defence Media Liaison:
02 6127 1999 or 0408 498 664
NEWS 
