Pacific 2017: Leonardo expands Australian footprint

Leonardo will establish a new site in Western Australia through its subsidiary Selex ES Australia, the company announced on 3 October.

The new facility, location in Rockingham, South of Perth, will be the regional hub for the company’s engineering, integration, installation and through life support, with a focus on defence electronics and naval programmes due to the site’s proximity to the Hendersen shipyards and Garden Island.

This will be Leonardo’s third site in Australia, adding to its current presence in Melbourne in Victoria and Nowra in New South Wales. Further expansion is planned over the coming 18 months.

The new site will also play a key role in Leonardo’s work on the SEA1442 phase 4 solution, under which Leonardo is providing an integrated suite of communications capabilities for the upgrade and modernisation of Australia’s ANZAC frigates.

Michael Lenton, executive chairman of Selex ES Australia said: ‘Leonardo is serious about its investment in Australia and has taken big steps over the past 12 months to significantly grow local capability as well as building and strengthening the national supply chain.

‘Leonardo has been able to grasp the opportunities around the recent thrust in naval capability procurement and we are intent on demonstrating that our local investment in skills and people is as intense as our transfer of technology from our global operations, even ahead of the next round of naval contracts.’