Northrop Grumman will invest AUD$50 million in opening an advanced defence electronics maintenance and sustainment centre in Western Sydney, Australia, the company announced on 15 May.

The company expects Australia to require defence solutions that are more sophisticated and reliant upon complex electronic systems in the coming decades. Investing in a new facility will support these efforts and sustain mission-readiness capabilities within the country.

The centre will support advanced electronics such as communications equipment, electronic warfare equipment and targeting pods. The company will bring together highly skilled technicians and engineers whose work will be further supported by Northrop Grumman's high-end technology and software expertise.

Northrop Grumman is already advancing science, technology, engineering and mathematics-related initiatives throughout Australia with an eye toward future workforce needs. Strategic partnerships include scholarship programmes with Dickson College, Sydney University and the American Australian Association; and collaborative research with the Australian Defence Force Academy/University of New South Wales and the University of Adelaide.

Ian Irving, chief executive, Northrop Grumman Australia, said: 'Our extensive engineering and systems design capabilities uniquely position us to provide a comprehensive, full lifecycle approach to manned and autonomous platform and system management for the country. This is a natural extension to Northrop Grumman's ongoing investment in Australian industry and local academia.'

The centre will be located at the Badgerys Creek precinct, where Northrop Grumman will be the anchor tenant for an advanced aerospace and defence industries precinct.