Lockheed Martin<\/a>\u00a0led an industry consortium supporting the program, including companies like Inovor Technologies, EM Solutions, and DXC.<\/p>\nAustralia\u2019s defense forces currently depend on commercial satellite services and the U.S. military\u2019s Wideband Global Satcom (WGS) system. JP9102 was seen as a step toward a sovereign military satcom capability, with requirements for Lockheed Martin to partner with Australian businesses to boost local industry and expertise.<\/p>\n
However, the rapid evolution in space technology, particularly the rise of LEO and\u00a0medium Earth orbit satellite solutions that offer more flexible coverage, has made JP9102\u2019s single orbit geostationary approach seem outdated. The Department of Defence said in a statement on Nov. 4 that the project no longer aligns with its strategic goals, which now favor multi-orbit capabilities to enhance security and resilience.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith the acceleration in space technologies and evolving threats in space since the project\u2019s commencement, Defence has assessed that a single orbit GEO-based satellite communications system would not meet strategic priorities,\u201d the Australian government said. \u201cAs such, Defence has decided to cease its current procurement activity with Lockheed Martin Australia for a single orbit GEO-based satellite communications system.\u201d<\/p>\n
Industry group criticizes the decision<\/h2>\n
The Space Industry Association of Australia (SIAA) expressed disappointment over the decision, highlighting the setback it represents for the country\u2019s space sector.<\/p>\n
\u201cLockheed Martin and other firms have invested in preparation for the program, already creating high-tech jobs all around the country,\u201d the SIAA said in a statement. \u201cIf the program had proceeded, this would have grown to hundreds of high-tech jobs, significant workforce upskilling, export opportunities, and hundreds of millions of dollars of contracts to Australian companies for future technology made in Australia.\u201d<\/p>\n
The industry group has urged the government to build Australia\u2019s presence in space capabilities, warning that Australia risks remaining a \u201cconsumer of space services\u201d instead of a \u201ccontributor\u201d capable of providing critical defense technologies.<\/p>\n
Lockheed Martin in a statement on Nov. 4 said the company \u201cwill continue to support the Australian government to meet its strategic needs and is proud to be partnering with the Australian Defence Force on many ongoing programs.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Australian Department of Defence announced the cancellation of its JP9102 military satellite program, an estimated $5 billion project awarded to Lockheed Martin\u00a0just 18 months ago, citing shifts in satellite […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1130,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[172,171],"class_list":["post-958","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-space","tag-australia","tag-geostationary-satellite-program"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/thedefencenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/geostationary-satellite-program.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedefencenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/958","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedefencenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedefencenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedefencenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedefencenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=958"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/thedefencenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/958\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1132,"href":"https:\/\/thedefencenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/958\/revisions\/1132"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedefencenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1130"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedefencenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=958"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedefencenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=958"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedefencenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}