The company behind the Battle Management System used by the Australian Army, US Army and New Zealand Defence Force, and more than 30 other countries, has opened its Asia Pacific headquarters in Canberra. Senator for the ACT, Zed Seselja, who cut the ribbon for the occasion, said that Canberra is the natural home for innovative defence industry professionals, with a large and vibrant defence industry community.
“Canberra is very much the heart of our defence industry, where people every day are doing practical, technical work that builds on our important strategic role in the region, so it’s very welcome to see another leader in this space open their doors here,” Seselja said. “And, of course, as the home to our international and diplomatic services, Canberra is also the central hub of collaboration between Australia and other nations.”
Systematic is a supplier of Command-and-Control (C2) software. Its flagship suite, SitaWare, was adopted as the Australian Army’s interim Battle Management System on 16 April 2021. Since then, SitaWare proved to be interoperable with Australia’s force and its allies at the Joint Warfighting Assessment in Colorado in June 2021. Elements of the Australian Army, the US Army and the British Army shared a common operating picture (COP) across the battlespace, thanks to the SitaWare BMS. In the same way, SitaWare was used for C2 by the Australian Army, Navy and Airforce at the HQ level at the Talisman Sabre 21 exercise.
Global head of defence business development Andrew Graham said for the many nations facing an ever increasing range of sophisticated threats. “SitaWare is enabling defence forces to work together, becoming more than the sum of their parts. The platform allows nations, big or small, to fully connect, combine their strength and deter adversaries. This is as important for Australia as it is for nations across the globe.”
David Horton, the vice president for Asia-Pacific, said “With a strong coalition of like-minded nations working together, we can maintain a peaceful Asia-Pacific. Australia is well-placed to play a lead role. And for that, we need a common operating picture. Systematic is committed to Asia-Pacific as Australia plays that role. With offices in Brisbane, Canberra, along with Wellington and Papakura in New Zealand, we offer a strong team of engineers, technical experts and support staff for the region. It shows we are backing the Defence leadership in Australia and New Zealand as well as our warfighters.”
Global CEO, Michael Holm strongly supports the plan to strengthen alliances in the region: “We are here for the long run. We’re determined to provide the interoperability that make our alliances real,” he said.