[SatNews] Defence company Thales Australia has signed a deal to supply satellite communications (SATCOM) systems for Australia's three new air-warfare destroyers (AWDs).

Thales Australia chief executive Chris Jenkins said the company would use its extensive experience in naval communications to provide a satellite communications capability to meet the current and future needs of the AWDs. Under the $8 billion AWD program launched in 2007, Australia will build three advanced warships based on the Spanish-designed Navantia F100. There may be a fourth. The three will be named Hobart, Brisbane and Sydney with the first, HMAS Hobart, scheduled for delivery in December 2014.

Mr. Jenkins said under their contract Thales would provide the Australian navy with a global data transfer capability based on traditional dedicated US military satellites, as well as commercial maritime satellites providing Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN) access. The SATCOM system will also provide access to the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) and other low data rate civilian maritime functions such as telex, remote monitoring, tracking and position reporting, and chart and weather updates. Ultra high frequency SATCOM transceivers and modems will be sourced through Spirit River, Western Australia, an antenna system from SITEP, and Inmarst Fleet Broadband and Inmarsat C equipment from Electrotech. All design and integration work will be performed in Australia at Garden Island, Sydney.