Australian Defence scientist, Paul Marsden has been awarded the United States Secretary of Defence Medal for Exceptional Public Service, the highest award for a non-United States civilian.
Mr Marsden was recognised for developing software estimated to save more than US$33 million (A$46.5 million) over the life of the F‑35 aircraft program.
The F-35 (pictured) is a single-seat, single-engine, all-weather stealth multirole fighter.
Minister for Defence, Christopher Pyne congratulated Mr Marsden on his innovative work that converted raw flight data into an easily readable form.
“I commend Paul Marsden on his exceptional work which has enabled Australia’s F-35 aircraft to be more affordable and sustainable,” Mr Pyne said.
“This data conversion software means the Joint Strike Fighter program will save on recurring costs by no longer relying on the original equipment manufacturer to interpret the data”
He said the F-35 Joint Program Office would also use the converted data to support maintenance issues that required urgent attention, making further savings in indirect costs.
“Paul is the third Australian Defence scientist to receive this prestigious award in the last four years, which is a great indicator of Aussie ingenuity and the calibre of personnel going to the United States for postings,” Mr Pyne said.
