Australia has canceled a multi-billion dollar joint project with Lockheed Martin for a military satellite. The Defense Ministry in Canberra announced today that the country's armed forces will shift to a different multi-orbit system, Reuters reported, BTA reported.
“Lockheed Martin Australia“ last year won a competition for a geostationary satellite communications system, with the project supposed to provide Australia with its first sovereign satellite communications system. The single-orbit satellite project with “Lockheed Martin“ has been cancelled, the Australian Department of Defence said in a statement today.
“With the acceleration of space technology and the evolution of space-based threats since the project began, we have assessed that single-orbit geostationary satellite communications systems do not align with our strategic priorities“, the document says. Instead, Australia will focus on multi-orbit capabilities to increase the resilience of its defence forces.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has previously said that while the national defence budget is increasing, his government is re-prioritising spending.
When the Lockheed Martin project was announced last year, officials said it would be a multi-billion dollar deal, but the department's statement today did not give any specific figures for the project. However, the document stated that between 9 and 12 billion Australian dollars (10.7 – 14.3 billion leva) would be allocated for space capabilities.