Today’s sod-turning on the new Military Vehicle Centre of Excellence marks a new milestone for the Australian Army and the nation’s developing defence industry.
Minister for Defence, the Hon Christopher Pyne MP said he was pleased to see the ongoing development of Australia’s Defence industry sector, and the key next step in the over $5 billion Land 400 Combat Reconnaissance Vehicle program..
"The centre – known as MILVEHCOE – represents a multi-million dollar investment by Rheinmetall, which is delivering both trucks and armoured vehicles for the Army," Minister Pyne said.
Located in the City of Ipswich on the outskirts of Brisbane, the new centre is a vote of confidence in Australian industry.
"This is a nation-building effort involving 1,450 jobs across Australia for our newest armoured vehicles alone and reinforces the Federal Government’s drive to support the workforce behind the Defence Force."
The Minister for Defence Industry, the Hon Steven Ciobo MP, said the MILVEHCOE would involve many high-tech jobs.
"These are the jobs of the future – working on highly advanced military vehicles with advanced complex systems," Minister Ciobo said.
"These are vehicles which are designed and manufactured to give our soldiers the best possible chance of completing their missions on operations and coming home safely to their families."
"The Ipswich facility will be home to the production line for the Boxer 8x8 Combat Reconnaissance Vehicle which is being delivered under Defence’s LAND 400 Phase 2; a $5 billion plus project."
Deliveries of the Australian produced Boxer will commence in 2020 with the final vehicles being delivered in 2026.
