Minister for Defence Personnel, Materiel and Science, Greg Combet recently welcomed the establishment of Raytheon Australia’s Industry Development Unit (IDU).
“Raytheon’s IDU will implement the Australian Industry Capability (AIC) Deed that was signed between Defence and the company on 1 July 2009,” Combet said.
“This new unit will facilitate opportunities for Australian industry to become part of Raytheon’s global supply chain. The AIC Deed with Raytheon Australia is an important step forward for Australian defense industry, especially small and medium sized enterprises,” he said.
The government’s global supply chain initiative leverages major equipment acquisition to broaden the opportunities for Australian companies to enter the international market place, he said.
“Working through the international primes such as Raytheon to set up units to actively promote Australian companies will expand the capacity of Australian industry to support the Australian Defence Force,” he said. ” It will also benefit the international companies we deal with by improving their competitiveness.”
Defence and Raytheon Australia will brief Australian industry on the initiative later this year.