Northrop Grumman has been chartered to grow Australian maintenance capabilities for the Royal Australian Air Force KC-30A MRTT fleet.
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Press Release, Avalon Airport, 02 March 2023: Northrop Grumman Australia has signed a charter with the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and Airbus to increase the availability of the RAAF KC-30A Multi-Role Tanker Transport Fleet by improving maintenance support, ultimately furthering Australia’s sovereign defence industrial base.
“Northrop Grumman is committed to help grow Australia’s defence capability,” said Christine Zeitz, general manager, Northrop Grumman Asia Pacific. “The signing of the KC-30A Sovereign Industrial Capability Charter underscores the collective responsibility that we share to keep them mission ready.”
The charter calls for all parties to work together to reduce turn-around-times and increase KC-30A aircraft availability. To do this, Northrop Grumman, Airbus and the RAAF have committed to building supply chain resilience and Australian industry capability by establishing and supporting workshops that increase maintenance and repair infrastructure in the country.
The charter also establishes full transparency for the exchange of information amongst the parties to pro-actively identify and establish opportunities for greater sovereign maintenance support for the fleet. Priorities include the creation of an Airbus Boom Maintenance Repair and Optimisation Centre in Australia as well as local implementation of future KC-30A upgrades.
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