Parallel Paths
Saab’s AusCMS Naval Combat System has come a long way since it was first introduced on Anzac Class vessels in the 1990s. And so has the career of Saab Australia’s Principal Hardware Engineer, David Challender, who has worked with the combat system almost since its launch in this country.
A sense of service runs deep in David Challender’s family. David’s grandfather joined the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and proudly served throughout World War II. When the time came for David to choose a career, he followed suit and, in 1990, signed up with the RAN. “I joined in one of the trade ranks and became an electronic technician working on systems,” he explains.
Before long, David was assigned as part of the commissioning crew of HMAS Anzac, the first of the Anzac Class frigates being assembled in Australia. His roles included providing maintenance for 9LV, the vessel’s new command and control system being delivered by Saab Australia (and the precursor to today’s AusCMS).
David helped bring HMAS Anzac to commission in 1995 and he proudly served on board throughout 1996. But meeting his future wife that same year prompted him to think of ways to serve his country that involved less travel. In 1997, he left the RAN and joined Saab Australia as a Hardware Support Engineer.
Now Saab Australia’s Principal Hardware Engineer within our Naval Combat Systems business unit, David’s career has grown in parallel with AusCMS, increasing its Australian production facilities and its reach across the RAN fleet.
From his initial role supporting test facilities, he went onto provide online and in-person support to RAN vessels using AusCMS, travelling to the Persian Gulf and across the Middle East and Oceania.
It was important for David to continue to develop, and Saab Australia supported his decision to pursue a Bachelor of Engineering in Electronics and Communications Engineering. The company paid for half of his study costs.
After completing his degree in 2016, David worked in a range of hardware engineering roles before being appointed Principal Hardware Engineer in 2021, consulting on the development of AusCMS hardware solutions.
“I look at the requirements that are necessary for a piece of equipment to work, and we then develop the enclosure for that system and select the components needed,” he says. “We take into account its operating environment, extremes in temperature, vibration and pyrotechnic shocks.”
David says in his time with Saab Australia he has seen the company grow from just 50 employees to close to 1,000. And he has watched AusCMS increase in its sophistication and capability and also become a truly Australian product.
“Australia is now independently developing both the software and hardware for AusCMS,” he says. “Everything we've been putting out over the last six years is being designed and developed in Australia.”
About AusCMS
Based on Saab’s 9LV, the Australian Combat Management System (AusCMS) is an advanced, Australian-designed-and-developed combat system that has proven its worth across RAN operations for more than three decades. Variants are in use on Australia’s Anzac, Canberra, Supply and Arafura classes, with an AusCMS interface planned for the Hunter and Hobart classes.