AIR6500 will connect assets across air, land, sea, cyber and space for enhanced defence against potential threats to national security. Credit: Lockheed Martin Corporation.

The Australian Department of Defense (DoD) has selected Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman for the AIR6500 Phase I project.

The two companies will participate in the Royal Australian Air Force’s (RAAF) ‘AIR6500 Phase I Project (AIR6500-1): Competitive Evaluation Process Stage 2 (CEPS2)’.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Go deeper with GlobalData

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

Discover B2B Marketing That Performs

Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.

Find out more

AIR6500-1 will provide the Australian Defence Force (ADF) with a Joint Air Battle Management System (JBAMS). This system will form the architecture at the core of the ADF’s future Integrated Air and Missile Defence (IAMD) capability.

It is expected to provide higher situational awareness and defence against modern air and missile threats.

JBAMS will also connect assets across air, land, sea, cyber and space for improved defence against primary threats to national security.

It will enable ADF to maintain high interoperability levels with coalition partners.

GlobalData Strategic Intelligence

US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?

Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.

By GlobalData

Australia Defence Industry Minister Melissa Price said: “Defence found the down-selected companies demonstrated the best understanding of its capability requirements, as well as a strong commitment to developing Australian industry capability.”

Boeing Defence Australia and Raytheon Australia also took part in the first phase of the competitive bid. They will continue to participate in developing the JBAMS and support the IAMD programme.

Australia will announce the successful strategic partner for the JBAMS in late 2023.

Lockheed Martin Australia and New Zealand chief executive Joe North said: “Since 2016, we have been highly committed to supporting the AIR6500-1 project.

“Our Lockheed Martin Australia AIR6500-1 team has steadily grown over this time to over 80 Australians in Adelaide, Canberra and Williamtown.”

Airforce Technology Excellence Awards - Nominations Closed

Nominations are now closed for the Airforce Technology Excellence Awards. A big thanks to all the organisations that entered – your response has been outstanding, showcasing exceptional innovation, leadership, and impact.


Excellence in Action
Discover how Virtualitics is transforming mission readiness with explainable AI, predictive maintenance, and data-driven decision intelligence across the U.S. Department of Defense through its AI-powered Integrated Readiness Optimization suite, for which it has won the Innovation and Business Expansion awards.

Discover the Impact