Sikorsky Australia has confirmed it’ll look to make use of no less than 100 extra employees at its upkeep and logistics facility in Nowra, NSW by 2028.
The subsidiary of Lockheed Martin, which sustains and maintains the Australian Defence Power’s MH-60R Seahawk helicopter fleet, is anticipated to offer one other 100 positions of development by 2028, together with 60 roles in upkeep.
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The roles are required for Sikorsky Australia’s through-life help providers for the MH-60R Seahawk helicopters and, probably, widespread upkeep throughout the Australian Defence Power’s new Black Hawk helicopter fleet.
The ADF presently operates 23 MH-60R Seahawk helicopters, based mostly out of Nowra. Australia is anticipated to function a complete variety of 76 Seahawks and Black Hawks when deliveries are full. One other 13 Seahawks are scheduled to be delivered by the top of subsequent yr.
“Within the technical upkeep discipline for aviation upkeep, we anticipate a few hundred positions of development throughout the entire enterprise and I anticipate round 60 of these will probably be particular to upkeep,” Sikorsky Australia basic supervisor Cliff Kyle mentioned.
“There’s a massive contingent of help employees that present to the general operation (in these development roles) however there’ll be a giant bulk of hands-on upkeep individuals to be required, which we, partly, will develop ourselves, however are additionally in search of different pathways that they may come via.
“I might anticipate by across the finish of 2028, we might want to attain a mature state of personnel to fulfill a mature schedule for depot upkeep and Navy operations.”
Sikorsky has beforehand confirmed that the Nowra facility has a future as a possible upkeep hub that could possibly be utilized by the USA Navy for restore, overhaul and improve help, enhancing provide chain resilience within the Indo-Pacific area.
MH-60R Seahawk helicopters carry out a spread of important duties, together with anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, vertical replenishment, passenger and cargo switch, and search and rescue missions.
“We accomplished the US Navy Deliberate Upkeep Inspection in 2023. Ought to we be requested to duplicate that exercise, we might be capable to at very quick discover,” Kyle mentioned.
“Lots of the power within the operation of the Romeo is round its configuration commonality with the US Navy. And that’s a key pillar of us with the ability to generate functionality for ourselves first, however then rapidly replicate that to offer help to an identically configured plane.
“There are a selection of commonalities the place it’s both an identical or an especially small increment of functionality to realize the identical restore on a Black Hawk (in comparison with a Seahawk). The one factor that’s stopping a Black Hawk element being repaired proper now’s the truth that we don’t have any to restore (as a result of they’re so new).”
Kyle additionally confirmed that the Nowra facility is contemplating shifting in the direction of a restricted fabrication functionality for aviation elements.
“It’s a really new factor that we’re trying to do. Not a lot the 3D printing but, however actually the chilly fabrication as we might name it within the commerce,” he mentioned.
“So there are a selection of issues on the plane which might be in a position to be manufactured from a six-axis CNC machine, for instance. So I believe small hand-sized brackets and issues of that nature which might be comparatively easy in nature that can not be essentially procured via the availability chain.
“One of many issues we’re proper now’s enhancing {our capability} to have the ability to fabricate these specific elements. Not as a result of we predict it’s a major benefit to the enterprise, however we predict it’s a major benefit to the client. As a result of our skill to scale back the time between ordering a component and placing to an plane means it’s within the Navy’s fingers for longer to make use of the capabilities.
“We wish to, at each alternative, to have our personal capabilities, so we now have the flexibleness to actually stroll right into a workshop and have a technician take a look at a drawing, end up a element that we will then subsequently match to an plane to make a sure choice. It’s a really near-term rising requirement.”
