Elbit Systems Australia completes IT and security project, opens SIL in Melbourne

Elbit Systems of Australia (ELSA) has completed an extensive security and IT project as part of the process of enhancing its status as a sovereign Australian business.

The company’s managing director, MAJGEN (retired) Paul McLachlan, said the business had been tirelessly undertaking its transformation since late 2020 to become recognised from a security and IT standpoint as a full-fledged Australian sovereign subsidiary of global innovative technology defence prime Elbit Systems Limited.

“Our leading edge capability – used by AUKUS, NATO, the QUAD and the Five Eyes intelligence alliance – is game-changing and we want Australian defence, homeland security and emergency services to reap the benefits of it,” Mr McLachlan said.

“ELSA’s transformation strategy was also in response to a gradual but significant shift in the Commonwealth of Australia’s policy regarding the involvement of non-Five Eyes companies working across the defence industry and further exacerbated by the recent AUKUS alliance.

“Accenture Australia partnered with ELSA in 2020 to support the design, development and implementation of IT infrastructure to augment our existing capacity to produce secure and trusted sovereign products, aligning global baseline production methods with the requirements of our Australian customers.

“The transformation of our Australian business across governance, physical, cyber and personnel – including the recent appointment of Australian Dr Karen Stanton as Chair of ELSA board of directors and our new board security committee and appointments, meet and exceed the requirements for a high level of Defence Industry Security Program.”

The project saw the implementation of new highly secure IT environments and the generation of 100 documents across 4000 pages of work over 18 months.