Satellite station to monitor borders

AUSTRALIA will receive a $ 223 million satellite ground station in a hi- tech boost to border protection stemming the tide of people smugglers.

The new facility, to be built in NSW, will work in tandem with a similar station in Western Australia to give Australia’s Defence Force a better picture of what’s happening on the high seas.

It will also provide satellite imagery to guide Australian maritime patrols in the contentious South China Sea as part of Operation Gateway.

Defence Industry Minister Christopher Pyne, who will announce the project today, said it would be completed in four years. “The satellite ground station will enable deployed forces across the Pacific and Indian Ocean region to connect to Defence’s strategic information networks back in Australia,” Mr Pyne said.

“The technology will assist border protection patrols.”

The $ 223 million contract, awarded to Northrop Grumman Australia, also includes a new satellite network management system.

The satellite station will be built near existing Defence barracks in Kapooka at Wagga Wagga. If it is approved by the parliamentary works committee, the project is expected to be finished by 2021.