Briefing: Lockheed Martin looks to triple size of Australian business

Lockheed Martin is planning to expand its business in Australia over the next few years to triple both the number of people it employs and its in-country revenues, according to Paul Johnson, chief executive officer of the company's Australian business.

Speaking to Jane's on 13 November, Johnson explained that Lockheed Martin Australia's strategy for expansion was multi-tiered, encompassing partnerships with other leading firms and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as well as possible future acquisitions in the defence and security sector.

Lockheed Martin Australia's objective, he said, is to grow from the existing 460 employees to 1,000 within the next three years, and then by 2017 the company aims to have around 1,500 to 2,000 employees. Revenues, Johnson added, are planned to increase from the current USD140 million to USD500 million by 2017.

Johnson said the company has decided to invest in Australia because it is politically stable, economically sound and is "serious about defence". It is a country, he explained, that is looking for a "capability edge" and the "high-capability systems that are at the core of what Lockheed Martin focuses on".

A fourth element why Australia is such an attractive market for Lockheed Martin is its business environment, said Johnson. "If we mark the first three points as very positive in Australia, the business environment here has been proven over a number of years as being conducive to the company being successful on programmes and being profitable in the market."