Lockheed Martin Australia is expanding its Australian industry support network for the Australian Army’s UH-60M Black Hawk fleet, with Albury-based Australian Aerospace Engineering (AAE) set to take on an expanded role in component sustainment.
Under the existing Black Hawk Integrated Support Contract between Lockheed Martin Australia and the Australian Army, the company is progressing a standing agreement with AAE to provide specialist maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services for Black Hawk components.
The agreement would expand AAE’s existing role supporting the Black Hawk sustainment network. The company currently supplies aerospace spare parts and material support to Sikorsky Australia’s sustainment operations at Nowra, New South Wales.
With the proposed agreement, AAE would move into specialist component MRO, adding maintenance and repair capabilities to its existing parts and material support activities.
Strengthening Australian component sustainment
The expanded role forms part of Lockheed Martin Australia’s Australian Industry Capability commitments for Black Hawk sustainment. By bringing additional Australian suppliers into the support network, the programme is aimed at strengthening domestic capability and increasing the capacity available to support the Army’s growing rotary-wing fleet.
AAE’s involvement also highlights the role of Australian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in building local aerospace and defence sustainment capability.
AAE CEO Adam Johnston said sovereign capability is not limited to Australia’s major cities and can be developed through regional businesses, skilled workers, local suppliers and long-term industry partnerships. The company’s Albury operations provide an example of how regional aerospace SMEs can contribute specialist capabilities to major defence programmes.
Supporting a growing Black Hawk Fleet
Australia has so far received 19 UH-60M Black Hawks, with delivery of the full fleet scheduled to be completed by 2030. The aircraft have accumulated more than 5,000 flying hours in Australia since the first Black Hawks arrived in 2023.
As the fleet continues to grow and flying activity moves towards a sustainable operational tempo, the requirement for local maintenance and component support is expected to increase. Lockheed Martin Australia expects Australian industry participation in the Black Hawk sustainment programme to expand as the fleet grows and the support programme matures.
For AAE, the move into Black Hawk component MRO represents an opportunity to build on its existing aerospace support activities and take on more complex sustainment work.
Regional SME adds capacity to defence MRO
The proposed agreement also demonstrates how Australia’s defence MRO ecosystem is increasingly drawing on specialist SMEs outside the country’s major aerospace centres.
AAE’s expanded role will add another local source of component sustainment capability to the Black Hawk support network while supporting the development of specialised skills and technical expertise within Australia’s defence industry.
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As the UH-60M fleet expands through 2030, the combination of OEM-led sustainment and Australian industry participation is expected to remain an important part of maintaining aircraft availability and building long-term sovereign support capability.
The partnership between Lockheed Martin Australia and AAE therefore represents more than an additional supplier arrangement. It is another step towards developing a broader Australian industrial base capable of supporting the Army’s Black Hawk fleet throughout its operational life.
