Construction on Raytheon Australia’s Centre for Joint Integration – the company’s first production facility – at Mawson Lakes will officially commence today.

The Centre, where the nation’s $2.5 billion short-range air defence missile system program – known as LAND 19 Phase 7B – will be assembled, will create around 500 jobs.   

About 200 workers will build the new facility over the next 18 months, while a further 300 staff will be based there assembling and maintaining the National Advanced Surface to Air Missile System (NASAMS), and other integrated air and missile defence projects.

Australia will become the 10^th country to use the NASAMS technology, which will replace the Australian Army’s ageing RBS-70 man-portable air defence system.

The Australian designed and built Thales Hawkei will be used as the NASAMS launch vehicle. NASAMS will also use advanced radars designed and manufactured by Australian-based CEA Technologies.

Minister for Defence Christopher Pyne said the new air defence capability purchase would combine world-leading Australian rad­ar technology with an air defence system that would cont­ribute to the “protection of our service men and women from modern airborne threats”.

Mawson Lakes, in Adelaide’s northern suburbs, is one of Australia’s premier defence tech precincts and is also home to BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin and Saab Australia.

South Australian Premier Steven Marshall said the Centre for Joint Integration and NASAMS project would create hi-tech jobs and supply chain and export opportunities for the state’s defence industry.

“This significant facility strengthens South Australia’s position as a key strategic hub for Raytheon Australia, one of the largest defence companies in the Australian market,” he said.

“It will accelerate growth in the defence sector and supports future Raytheon programs across maritime, aerospace, cyber and systems integration.”