Australian Defence Industries
Encyclopedia
Thales Australia is a primary defence contractor for the Australian Defence Force
. Thales Australia is best known for its naval ship repair operations, and currently leases the Captain Cook graving dock at Garden Island Naval Base in Sydney, New South Wales and also leases and occupies many of the buildings there. ADI's large site in St Mary's in western Sydney is being progressively being repatriated for residential development with their munitions capability being consolidated in Benalla, Victoria and their testing facilities being sold to Vipac Engineers and Scientists. ADI manufactured the Steyr AUG
based, F88 Austeyr assault rifle at Lithgow Small Arms Factory
. ADI also produced a variety of smokeless powders for reloading rifle, pistol & shotgun cartridges, production of Australian armoured vehicles, such as the Bushmaster
and producing Australian specific modifications to imported military vehicles.
In previous years, ADI was the sole defence contractor in Australia, although this changed with the creation of the Tenix Group company, Tenix Defence
.
ADI was based on Garden Island Naval Base in Sydney, New South Wales, though they also maintained a R&D/Custom production facility in Brisbane, Australia. In 2004 they applied to the Australian Equal Opportunities Commission to exclude workers of certain nationalities for security reasons.
In October 2006, the Australian federal government allowed Transfield Holdings to sell their 50% shareholding in ADI to the Thales Group's
Australian holdings, the Australian branch of the French military engineering firm. All ADI operations have been taken over by the company, which is now known as Thales Australia.
Australian Defence Force
The Australian Defence Force is the military organisation responsible for the defence of Australia. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy , Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Force and a number of 'tri-service' units...
. Thales Australia is best known for its naval ship repair operations, and currently leases the Captain Cook graving dock at Garden Island Naval Base in Sydney, New South Wales and also leases and occupies many of the buildings there. ADI's large site in St Mary's in western Sydney is being progressively being repatriated for residential development with their munitions capability being consolidated in Benalla, Victoria and their testing facilities being sold to Vipac Engineers and Scientists. ADI manufactured the Steyr AUG
Steyr AUG
The AUG is an Austrian bullpup 5.56mm assault rifle, designed in the early 1970s by Steyr Mannlicher GmbH & Co KG . The AUG was adopted by the Austrian Army as the StG 77 in 1977, where it replaced the 7.62mm StG 58 automatic rifle...
based, F88 Austeyr assault rifle at Lithgow Small Arms Factory
Lithgow Small Arms Factory
The Lithgow Small Arms Factory is a military small arms factory located in the town of Lithgow, New South Wales in Australia.- History :Opened on 8 June 1912, the factory initially manufactured Short, Magazine, Lee-Enfield Mk III rifles for the Australian military during World War I...
. ADI also produced a variety of smokeless powders for reloading rifle, pistol & shotgun cartridges, production of Australian armoured vehicles, such as the Bushmaster
Bushmaster IMV
The Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicle or Infantry Mobility Vehicle is an Australian-built wheeled armoured vehicle. It was originally designed by Irish company Timoney Technology Ltd under a licence agreement with Perry Engineering in Adelaide; that licence was sold, with permission granted by...
and producing Australian specific modifications to imported military vehicles.
In previous years, ADI was the sole defence contractor in Australia, although this changed with the creation of the Tenix Group company, Tenix Defence
Tenix Defence
Tenix Defence was Australia's largest defence contractor with core capabilities in Aerospace, Land, Marine and Electronic Systems applications. BAE Systems announced its intention to acquire the company from Tenix in January 2008 and the acquisition was completed in June 2008 for A$775 million...
.
ADI was based on Garden Island Naval Base in Sydney, New South Wales, though they also maintained a R&D/Custom production facility in Brisbane, Australia. In 2004 they applied to the Australian Equal Opportunities Commission to exclude workers of certain nationalities for security reasons.
In October 2006, the Australian federal government allowed Transfield Holdings to sell their 50% shareholding in ADI to the Thales Group's
Thales Group
The Thales Group is a French electronics company delivering information systems and services for the aerospace, defense, transportation and security markets...
Australian holdings, the Australian branch of the French military engineering firm. All ADI operations have been taken over by the company, which is now known as Thales Australia.
See also
- Australian Transformation and Innovation Centre (ATIC)Australian Transformation and Innovation CentreThe Australian Transformation and Innovation Centre is a Thales Australia facility based at the Garden Island Naval Base in Sydney. It is used to put concepts into action by developing and demonstrating new technological capabilities and engineering solutions. The ATIC works with its customers to...