Boeing Australia is Boeing's largest subdivision outside the United States. Established in 1997, the company oversees its seven wholly owned subsidiaries, consolidating and co-ordinating Boeing's businesses and operations in Australia.

Boeing has played a role in Australia's aerospace industry through its products and services and has more than 4,500 employees spread across 38 locations in every state and territory except Tasmania. With an investment of more than $800 million, Boeing generates approximately $400 million in export revenue for Australia through its commercial and defence products and services.

History of Boeing in Australia

Origins

Boeing began working in Australia through its subsidiary Boeing Aerostructures Australia (BAA), which was formerly known as the de Havilland Australia Company (DHA) and established in 1927. DHA became Hawker de Havilland Australia (HdH) in 1961 and acquired the former Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC) in 1986. Boeing acquired HdH in 2000 which became Boeing Aerostructures Australia (BAA). In 1987, GAF was reorganised and renamed as Aerospace Technologies of Australia (ASTA), then privatised and later purchased in 1995 by Rockwell International. In 1996 Boeing purchased Rockwell International In 1997, Boeing bought Aerospace Technologies of Australia, which until the 1980s was known as Government Aircraft Factories. The five remaining subsidiaries were acquired as follows: Jeppesen in 2000, Alteon in 2002, Aviall in 2006, and Insitu Pacific in 2009.

In 2012, Boeing Australia closed a Bankstown factory in Sydney with operations consolidated commercial manufacturing operations at Fishermans Bend in Melbourne.

Relationship with Boeing Enterprise Divisions

Boeing Australia covers all of Boeing's major divisions:

  • Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA)
  • Composite manufacturing is performed by Boeing Aerostructures Australia (BAA) in Port Melbourne.
  • Sales support is performed by Boeing Distribution Australia in Sydney.
  • Boeing Defense, Space & Security (BDS)
  • Networks, communications and mission systems for the Commonwealth of Australia and Australian Defence Force by Boeing Defence Australia (BDA) based in Brisbane.
  • Boeing MQ-28 Ghost Bat development and manufacturing by BAA, and operations and maintenance by BDA.
  • Boeing Phantom Works rapid prototyping by Phantom Works Australia (PW-A) (previously Phantom Works Global) in Brisbane.
  • Insitu Pacific based in Alderley, Queensland.
  • Sustainment and training provided by BDA.

Boeing Defence Australia

Boeing Defense, Space & Security (BDS) products and services placed in or destined for Australia include:

  • C-17 Globemaster III military transports,
  • CH-47 Chinook helicopters,
  • Boeing 737 Wedgetail AEW&C Wedgetail aircraft,
  • F/A-18 Hornets,
  • F/A-18F Super Hornets,
  • aerospace support, such as F-111 Through Life Support and the F/A-18 Hornet Upgrade Program.
  • delivery of 6th C-17 to Australia
  • Army aviation training and training support,
  • Harpoon missile,
  • Joint Direct Attack Munitions,
  • Network-enabled systems,
  • Defence High Frequency Communication System (DHFCS),
  • ScanEagle unmanned air vehicle (UAV), and
  • Joint participation on the Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) Satellite program with the U.S. Air Force.

In Australia, BDS is represented in by its business unit Boeing Defence Australia (BDA), which is a defence aerospace enterprise. BDA supports programs for the Commonwealth of Australia, the Australian Defence Force, and commercial customers. BDA also conducts operations and maintenance for classified programs and Australian Government sites, and operates in line with the three divisions of BDS - Boeing Military Aircraft, Global Services & Support, and Network & Space Systems.

Boeing Distribution Australia

BCA Sales operates out of Boeing Australia's Sydney office and provides sales and marketing support of BCA products, customer engineering, and quality control/procurement functions.

BCA opened its first Australian office in Sydney in 1959 when Qantas became the first international customer for Boeing's first passenger jet, the Boeing 707, which changed air travel for Australians by drastically reducing flight times to the rest of the world. The Boeing 737 has also played an important role in the growth of aviation in Australia.

Another component of BCA is its Commercial Aviation Services (CAS) unit, which provides materials and engineering services to Boeing customers in-country. In Australia, Alteon Training Australia, Aviall, Jeppesen Australia, and Jeppesen Marine come under CAS' family of companies.

Boeing Field Service is also part of CAS. Field Service provides on-site technical advice to Boeing customers and can call resolve operator problems with access to BCA technical resources. Field Service representatives are located in Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne.

Boeing Research and Technology

In September 2003, Boeing Company initiated with the University of Queensland School of IT and Electrical Engineering (ITEE) a new Boeing Systems Engineering Teaching Laboratory to fill skills shortages in aviation and aerospace industry in Australia. Boeing also made a $1.55M grant for the founding of a Boeing Professorship in Systems Engineering for 5 years occupied by Professor Peter A Lindsay. Boeing provided funding with respect to the Wedgetail 737 Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) project with the Commonwealth of Australia.

This fostered Defence Industries Queensland in Queensland Department of State Development, Infrastructure and Planning with Boeing Defence Australia at RAAF Base Amberley.

In March 2008, Boeing established a branch of its advanced research and development (R&D) unit – Boeing Research & Technology (BR&T) – in Australia to provide an R&D organisation for its in-country businesses and to collaborate with Australian R&D organisations, including universities and private sector R&D providers, the CSIRO and the Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO).

Boeing has a research partnership with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) that commenced in 1991. The CSIRO and Boeing collaborated on a 3D sensing and mapping payload for a NASA robot that operates on the International Space Station.

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