Minister for Defence & Minister for Defence Industry - OneSKY Ready for Take Off
(Source: Australian Department of Defence; issued Feb 26, 2018)
AirServices Australia, in partnership with the Department of Defence, has entered into an agreement with Thales Australia to integrate the nation’s civil and military air traffic management systems. This is a world first and the pioneering OneSKY program will further earmark Australia as a global aviation leader and deliver on the Coalition’s 2013 election commitment.
Under OneSKY, Australia will be better able to handle forecast air traffic growth which will reduce congestion and open up more efficient air routes to reduce flight times, fuel costs and greenhouse emissions.
Minister Defence Industry, the Hon Christopher Pyne MP said OneSKY was an important development for the future of Australian aviation and Australian jobs.
“The $1.2 billion OneSKY project will transform Australia’s air traffic management system and national infrastructure in the sky, ensuring the travelling public arrive at their destination safely and with minimal delays,” Minister Pyne sad.
“The OneSKY project will support 450 specialist high-tech jobs in Melbourne, building Australian skills in complex project management, systems engineering and software development.
“Around 75 per cent of the acquisition cost and 95 per cent of the ongoing annual support costs will be to Australian companies,” Minister Pyne said.
With the annual Asia-Pacific air traffic growth rate predicted to be the second-highest in the world at 4.7 per cent, and significant development at our major airports over the next decade, the role of air traffic control is more critical than ever.
Minister for Defence Marise Payne said OneSKY’s leading edge technology meant Australia would have the most secure and resilient air traffic network in the world.
“This project will replace the ageing military air traffic management systems and is essential to ensuring our ADF can continue to operate safely in Australia’s airspace,” Minister Payne said.
“The integrated system will manage more than 11 per cent of global airspace and some of the world’s busiest air routes.
“As a result of reaching this important milestone, OneSKY will be removed from Defence’s Projects of Concern list,” Minister Payne said.
Once implemented, AirServices Australia and Defence will share technology and information, giving Australia the most advanced and integrated air traffic control system in the world. It will manage forecasted growth of air traffic movement in Australia, by as much as 60 per cent by 2030, minimising delays for the travelling public.
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Australia and Thales to Deploy World’s Largest Air Traffic Control System Covering 11% of the Globe
(Source: Thales; issued Feb 26, 2018)
Airservices Australia and the Australian Defence Force have chosen to rely on Thales to achieve this ambition by signing an AUS $1.2bn (€777m) contract for the delivery and deployment of the OneSKY programme. OneSKY is the world’s most advanced civil military airspace integration project and calls for the modernization of the Australian and associated oceanic airspace.
OneSKY’s objective is to bring benefits for passengers, airlines and the economy whilst maintaining Australian air sovereignty and safety to citizens, and is a critical part of the national infrastructure necessary to underpin the future economic prosperity of Australia.
The ambition of this programme is to enable Australia to safely manage and benefit from the rapid increase in air travel over the next 20 years at a time when airspace management is becoming significantly more complex. OneSKY will leverage Thales’s proven track record in Air Traffic Management systems, dual civil/military interoperability and use the latest digital technologies in the fields of connectivity, big data and AI to improve flight co-ordination, safely increase the use of airspace, optimise air traffic flow and improve the way planes approach the runway. Drawing on its cybersecurity expertise, Thales will ensure the integrity of the connectivity that will drive this interoperability.
For passengers, the programme will reduce travel times and delays. For airlines, OneSKY seeks to maintain safety levels at increased volumes to enable them to increase their routes, whilst reducing fuel burn and CO2 emissions. The Australian Air Force will benefit from safer co-ordination with civilian air movements, thus helping them accomplish their mission of protecting Australia and its citizens more efficiently.
The development and delivery of OneSKY will support over 500 highly skilled, high-tech jobs, of which 450 are in Melbourne as well as a further 50 jobs in similar disciplines in France.
To this approximately 200 more jobs will be supported across the entire supply chain in Australia It builds on the long-term investment by Thales and comprehensive technology transfer that has brought world-leading R&D in ATM systems to Melbourne.
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