Minister breaks ground on new turbine engine maintenance facility

The Minister for Defence Industry, the Hon Steven Ciobo MP, visited TAE Aerospace’s Turbine Engine Maintenance Facility (TEMF) site in Bundamba, south-east Queensland, on November 14.

TAE Aerospace recently purchased the former Masters building near Ipswich and will develop the facility to support local sustainment of Australia’s fifth-generation F-35A Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) aircraft.

Mr Ciobo said the TEMF would enable deeper-level maintenance, where JSF F135 engine modules were disassembled, repaired and reassembled for testing.

“Defence will be a major, but not exclusive, customer of TAE Aerospace’s new facility,” Mr Ciobo said.

“Defence’s contract with TAE Aerospace will support maintenance, repair, overhaul and upgrade (MRO&U) activities for F135 engines, as well as existing Australian Defence Force capabilities.”

TAE Aerospace is 100 per cent Australian-owned with more than 230 employees at several sites across Australia, and holds contracts to support Classic Hornet, Super Hornet, Growler and M1 Abrams tank engines.

The addition of the F135 engine MRO&U activities will add a minimum of 15 aerospace technician jobs to its workforce.

“The global F-35 Program has had a positive impact on Australia’s growing defence industry, which has collectively been awarded in excess of AU$1.2 billion in production contracts and will support up to 5,000 Australian jobs by 2023,” Mr Ciobo said.