Three years ago, Australia started a plan to create a world-class aerospace industry. In the biennial Australian Air Show, people can see Australia's ambitions to develop the aerospace industry. At the same time, the domestic civil aviation sector is constantly changing, and the Australian military is also striving to become an important regional military force. Three years ago, the Joint Monitoring Committee (JSC), composed of representatives of the Australian aerospace industry and government, faced an arduous task to complete the 16 proposals put forward by the aerospace industry’s action plan, which aims to improve Australian aviation. Competitiveness of the aerospace industry. The action plan jointly initiated by the government and industry presents a bright prospect for the Australian industry to develop and maintain the world competitiveness of the Australian aerospace industry, and increase the annual export volume by five times to reach US$2.7 billion by 2012. Quick, general manager of GKN Aerospace Engineering Services, the head of JSC, said that the achievements of the Australian aerospace industry have exceeded expectations three years ago. JSC brings together representatives from Aerosonde, Aerospace Australia, Hawker De Havilland, Production Parts and other manufacturers, Qantas, the government, the military, and the Civil Aviation Safety Administration. All proposals were resolved during the implementation of the action plan.

Strategic value

The proposals put forward in the action plan include the recognition of the strategic and economic value of the world-competitive aerospace sector; the establishment of a unified representative of the Australian aerospace industry; the promotion of aerospace employment and training; the need for new investment incentives; the establishment of new aviation Space Technology Joint Research Center; to make Australian aircraft certification standards recognized by other countries. Quick said that Australian industry and the government have been working closely together. The action plan has made aerospace an important task for the government. At present, the Australian government has clearly recognized that the development of the aerospace industry requires the joint efforts of the government and industry. Without government support, it will be impossible to achieve commercial success in the aerospace industry.

The government has successfully adopted the "Australian team" approach in the F-35 "Joint Strike Fighter" project. Through this model, Australia's aerospace capabilities have become a whole, and this approach is being promoted in other global aerospace projects. Quick said that the innovative projects related to the action plan will further realize the synergy of the industry and are promoting a wider range of industry alliances. This fact is verified by the Australian industry's continuous use of the "Australian team" concept to obtain an important share of work from global aerospace prime contractors.

Carolan, general manager of project and business development for Hawker De Havilland, pointed out that government involvement in the JSF project is very important. In the past, industry and government did not become an effective whole. Quick believes that the government's support for the JSF project and the recent Air 7000 multi-mission drone acquisition and the acquisition of the Boeing 787 project for Hawker has greatly encouraged the domestic industry. The 787 project can give 115 Australian suppliers a job share, and Hawke expects the value of the project to exceed 4 billion Australian dollars.

The Australian subsidiaries of major global aerospace companies are also working hard to promote Australia’s industrial development. For example, Boeing Australia has stated that it has the responsibility and obligation to help develop the Australian aerospace industry. Boeing Australia has 2,400 employees and is Boeing's largest subsidiary outside the United States. The current work of Boeing Australia is the "wedge tail" airborne early warning and control aircraft project, which is the largest aircraft modification project in Australia's history.

Withers, the newly appointed president of Boeing Australia, pointed out that the company as a team is focused on developing Australia's suppliers and partners in an effort to bring benefits to the aerospace industry and the broader industrial industry. Part of this measure has been focused on mature small and medium-sized enterprises, creating opportunities for them to join Boeing's global aircraft parts manufacturer resource network, enabling them to obtain jobs in Boeing and other key international markets.

At the same time, Australian suppliers are also benefiting from other projects, such as Eurocopter Australia's production of Australian Army Tiger helicopters in Queensland.

Unified agency

Quick believes that one of the main achievements of the Action Plan is to use the form of the Australian Aerospace Industry Forum to establish a unified body that represents the Australian Aerospace Industry. The Action Plan report shows that Australian industry is in a decentralized state, and a unified organization needs to be formed as a global aerospace platform developer and independent market supplier. All leading aerospace industries have strong industry associations.

Quick pointed out that some work can be solved during the implementation of the three-year action plan, but some problems have been solved beyond this deadline, which requires the forum to continue these work. The Aerospace Industry Forum was established in April last year by Ian Macfarlane, Minister of Industry, Tourism and Resources of Australia. The members of the forum include industry associations representing the Australian aerospace industry, large aerospace companies operating in Australia, small and medium-sized enterprises and research institutes related to the aerospace industry. Forum members held their first meeting in December last year and established four working groups for export and supply chain management and training, aerospace and defense industry promotion research, certification, and regulations. To some extent, the forum refers to the model of the Canadian Aerospace Industry Association, which is the only representative of the Canadian aerospace industry. It has done a lot of effective work for the Canadian industry and the Canadian government also attaches great importance to it.

The main problem faced by Australian aircraft manufacturers, especially general aviation manufacturers, as set forth in the Action Plan is the lack of recognition of aircraft certification standards. This issue prompted the establishment of the Aerospace Industry Regulations and Certification Advisory Subcommittee (AIRCAP).

AIRCAP proposes that the Civil Aviation Safety Agency (CASA) and government-appointed panel members work together to improve the efficiency and consistency of certification. A key role of AIRCAP is to help successfully formulate new international certification agreements. AIRCAP and the certification working group have promoted CASA to complete the formulation of the Bilateral Security Agreement (BASA) between the United States and Australia and the joint certification and recognition agreement between the United Kingdom and Australia. In 2005, it signed an implementation agreement in BASA with the United States and is currently negotiating with other major aerospace countries. AIRCAP hopes to obtain consulting support to obtain a series of reports on certification and global recognition. General aviation manufacturer Gippsland Airlines has encountered difficulties in capital and overseas market development due to the lack of recognition of Australian certification. The company called for this problem to be resolved as soon as possible. The chairman of the company, Wight, said that the government must speed up the process of bilateral agreements so that CASA's certification can be recognized globally.

The action plan raised a number of issues related to CASA, including cost recovery and the efficiency and consistency of aircraft certification. CASA's cost recovery assessment work is continuing, and AIRCAP has already put forward some proposals in this regard. CASA has improved its management functions in the manufacturing field through the establishment of a dedicated office.

Aerospace Research

Other proposals in the action plan are related to strengthening aerospace research, development, and innovation. The Australian Joint Research Centre (CRC) has become a platform to provide support for research and development, and the successful advanced compliant structure CRC (CRC-ACS) is leading the research and development of aerospace composite materials in Australia. Since the aerospace work has received attention, the continuous government funding of CRC-ACS has been guaranteed, and it has also been supplemented by increasing members of the aerospace industry.

The action plan recommends the establishment of a new aerospace technology CRC. However, the proposal was not implemented because of the pressure of competition among companies, and the proposal did not get the support of the industry. On the other hand, other R&D support measures have been promoted. The parties agreed to use the "Australian team" approach to focus on commercial technology research and development, such as through advanced maintenance and aircraft life extension innovation projects, and a number of companies are cooperating in the market promotion of technical capabilities. At the Australian Airshow, 30 Australian companies participating in the project will demonstrate their capabilities to participating foreign customers. The competency guide provided by the exhibition will also help introduce Australia's capabilities in this field.

The Australian defense industry also hopes that the government’s new defense and aerospace industry policies can promote prosperity. In May last year, the Australian government announced a national defense policy review report, and in December it sought comments from the industry. The final defense industry policy was issued by Secretary of Defense Nielsen on March 1 this year. The introduction of the new policy is very necessary, because since the announcement of the national defense and industrial strategic policy statement eight years ago, the situation has changed significantly, such as increased defense investment, fiercer competition, and reforms in the procurement process.

9 strategies

The report put forward nine strategies aimed at supporting the Australian defense industry in meeting the needs of the Australian military and helping it gain overseas business. These strategies include measures to implement equipment and maintain ADF capabilities; give priority to the use of Australian industrial capabilities; create opportunities for Australian industries; support the development of capabilities in the defense industry; promote the export of defense products; and promote innovation in defense technology. The policy identifies measures that can help the government implement these nine strategies, including the launch of new Australian industrial capacity projects to protect business opportunities in the industry. It also plans to promote national defense technology innovation through joint research and development of defense technology organizations, universities, and industry. In order to promote exports, the Ministry of National Defense will establish a new defense export department. The government is guaranteeing to provide strong support for the research and development work carried out by its own companies and to expand exports of the defense industry. In addition, the skills shortage problem has been solved by expanding Australia's defense industry skills program.

Challenges for the future

Carolan of Hawker pointed out that the government must continue to help industry with research and innovation. Challenges facing Australian industry include meeting the stricter cost structure imposed by prime contractors. Tenix pointed out that the government can help the industry maintain and improve capabilities by releasing projects in a timely manner. After three years of development, Australia will be able to build a competitive aerospace industry team that can provide high value-added export products. The 3.5 billion Australian dollars in 2012 can now be achieved.