Northrop Grumman Australia Pty Limited, a subsidiary of Northrop Grumman Corporation, announced that it has signed a definitive agreement with Qantas Airways Limited to acquire Australia-based Qantas Defence Services Pty Limited. QDS provides integrated logistics, sustainment and modernisation support to the Australian Government and military customers. The acquisition is subject to various conditions and is expected to close in 2014. Terms of the transactions were not disclosed.

“QDS complements our current integrated logistics and modernization efforts and advances our international strategy. We expect QDS will provide an important platform for international growth in our key focus areas of unmanned, C4ISR, cyber, and logistics and modernisation,” said Wes Bush, Northrop Grumman Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President.

“Northrop Grumman’s in-country revenue and footprint are significantly enhanced by the QDS acquisition, underscoring our commitment to the Australian and regional defence markets,” said Ian Irving, Northrop Grumman Chief Executive for Australia.