Development, Manufacture and Support for Australian ISR Capability

Cobham Aviation services has welcomed the growth in Team REAPER Australia announced by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) at Avalon 2019 in Geelong, VIC, on 26 February. See here for MON’s coverage of the GA-ASI announcement.

Team REAPER Australia, which has grown from four to ten companies since 2017, brings together international and Australian companies dedicated to the development, manufacture and delivery of an armed remotely piloted aircraft system (RPAS) for the Australian Defence Force (ADF).

Cobham and GA-ASI have collaborated on the introduction of RPAS into Australia for over a decade in the lead up to the AIR 7003 programme, for which the government selected GA-ASI as the preferred supplier last November. Cobham Aviation Service Australia, the lead partner in Team REAPER Australia, will provide maintenance, repair and overhaul services as well as logistics support.

“As an inaugural member and lead partner, Cobham welcomes the Team REAPER Australia expansion. We look forward to the next phase of collaboration as we continue to play a significant role in the delivery of the Remotely Piloted Aircraft Capability for the ADF,” commented Cobham Australia Chief Executive, Ryan Both.

“Cobham currently supports the UK REAPER capability on operations and just last year was part of the GA-ASI team that brought the new UK PROTECTOR variant of the aircraft to the UK on the historic non-stop flight across the Atlantic [….] There are significant synergies in both a common aircraft type and through-life support arrangements that will benefit both the RAF and RAAF. Cobham’s UK and Australian teams will work closely together to realise these through-life synergy benefits,” added Cobham plc Vice President Business Development, Greg Bagwell.