BAE Systems Australia has purchased Radio Frequency Systems (Australia), a wholly owned subsidiary of Radio Frequency Systems (Germany), following the company’s German parent’s decision to exit the defence market.
The deal will make it possible for BAE Antenna Products to grow in the market and be integrated into opportunities, such as the business’ efforts to export HF radar, BAE revealed in a news release.
It is a component of the extension of BAE Systems’ Strategic Surveillance plan, which aims to safeguard the company’s long-term future in Over The Horizon Radar (OTHR) design, development, and maintenance.
Key subject matter expertise in antenna design, development, and production are part of the acquisition, and some of these workers have joined the BAE Systems organisation.
Programs using the RFS HF Antenna portfolio include the Jindalee Operational Radar Network, the High-Frequency Modernisation program, Project Nullarbor and, more recently, the REDFIN program.
Andrew Gresham, BAE Systems Australia Managing Director for Defence Delivery, stated that the acquisition builds on Australia’s more than 50 years of innovation, with future targeted investment in our people, products, and valued partners.
“This transaction will ensure key knowledge & IP is retained in Australia, enabling future investment and innovation in key HF systems antenna products,” Gresham remarked.
Additionally, he said that it will provide supply chain security from our reliable network of business partners for HF systems antenna goods in Australia and around the world.
RFS has a long history in major Australian defence projects and the transaction will ensure the intellectual property, High Frequency (HF) Radar and communications antenna designs remains a sovereign capability.
