Industry & Investment NSW is supporting a $5 million upgrade by Thales Australia of its Soldier Systems Development and Support Centre in Lithgow to expand its role into developing new generation technologies for Australia’s armed forces.

Up to 88 new jobs will be created by the upgrade and 130 existing jobs in Lithgow, as well as a further 20 jobs in Sydney, will be retained.

The Lithgow small arms facility is the centre for Thales’s design, manufacture and through-life support for firearms and other weaponry used by the Australian Defence Forces.

The $5 million upgrade will involve the upgrade of the Soldier Systems Development and Support Centre (SSDSC) at Lithgow to focus on the development of soldier systems for our armed forces.

Soldier systems refer to the integration of specialised, electronic equipment such as surveillance and sensors, clothing, equipment and weapons systems for combat soldiers, and will help shape our high technology defence force of the future.

Minister for State Development Ian Macdonald said the Lithgow SSDSC upgrade will place Thales in a strong position to win future defence contracts.

“NSW Government support for this upgrade, through Industry & Investment NSW, is partof the Government's commitment to growing the State’s defence industry to create jobs and economic growth,” Mr Macdonald said.

“The NSW Government’s vision is for NSW to secure 30 per cent of Australia’s in-country defence spend within a decade, delivering close to $3.9 billion per annum in expenditurefor our State."

Member for Bathurst Gerard Martin said Defence plays a crucial role in the security of ournation but also plays an important role in regional communities like Lithgow.

“The SSDSC will involve significant levels of research and development and will requirehigh level skills including in systems engineering, communications engineering, projectmanagement, software support, power management, technical support and logistics,” hesaid.