BAE Systems Australia will produce titanium parts for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter at a new facility in the northern suburbs of Adelaide, the company has announced.
The facility, a collaborative arrangement between BAE, Rosebank Engineering and the South Australian government, will house Australia’s “biggest advanced aerospace components manufacturing and treatment operation,” BAE says.
BAE will use the facility to manufacture titanium parts for the vertical tail fin of the F-35 under a contract worth $177 million.
In addition to the F-35, the facility will be able to produce large-scale components for commercial aircraft, industry and other defence projects.
The Edinburgh Parks site will include matching metal processing and finishing facilities capable of producing long thin-wall titanium components up to five metres long — the second such facility in the world, according to BAE.