Electronic warfare firm SRC Australia opens office in Adelaide

SRC Australia has opened an office in Adelaide, South Australia, as the company looks to enhance its electronic warfare (EW) payload development capabilities.

The company is a subsidiary of US-based research and development firm SRC. It is investing more than A$12m ($8.49m) in the development of an electronic warfare payload for next-generation training purposes.

According to the Australian Department of Defence, the payload could also be used to advance concepts such as the ‘Loyal Wingman’ unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), which is being developed by Boeing in partnership with the Australian Government.

Australia Defence Minister Christopher Pyne said: “SRC Australia are experts in developing next-generation electronic warfare solutions for the Australian Defence Force and its allies.

“The company plays a vital role in delivering its ‘Ghosthawk’ mission support data sets for Australia’s F-35A Joint Strike Fighters.”

Pyne noted that the company’s electronics package will allow ‘the UAV to look like an adversary to replicate the threats’ encountered in combats.

The electronics package is known as ‘Lyrebird’ in Australia and ‘Mockingbird’ in the US.

The new office is SRC’s second in the country after the launch of the Canberra office last year.

According to Pyne, the ‘Lyrebird’ programme is expected to provide 15 additional jobs in Adelaide, Brisbane and Canberra over the next two years.

SRC offers a range of services, including mission planning support, EW integrated reprogramming, simulation, test and evaluation, and training.

SRC Australia was formed after the parent company acquired Australian firm Mission Data Solutions in April 2016.

The company secured a contract to provide software development and engineering analysis to support EW requirements for the Australian F-35 programme.