Rydalmere. Centre of excellence

One of Australia’s largest defence contractors, Thales Australia, which has its Centre of Excellence in Underwater Systems, at Rydalmere, will establish a new headquarters in Sydney, investing $10 million and supporting around 500 jobs, when its long term lease at the Navy's Garden Island facility expires in 2013. The company will continue to use Garden Island as a primary ship repair and maintenance base.

Rydalmere. Thales celebrates 20 years

Thales Underwater Systems, at Rydalmere, exported sonar and underwater systems design totalling $360 million, since the mid 1990s, according to Greg Combet, Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Procurement, at the facility’s 20th anniversary, The facility is capable of producing sonar systems in significant volumes which are supplied to the RAN and to the UK, French, Italian, Norwegian and Saudi Arabian navies. The Indian Navy’s Scorpene submarine program also makes use of components made in Australia. In R&D, the company is actively involved with national capability development through the Defence Science and Technology Organisation, universities, CSIRO and Australian industry. The facility employees some 300 workers.