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Western Australia Minister for Defence Industry Paul Papalia CSC and WA Minister for Training Simone McGurk have announced the WA government has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Huntington Ingalls Industries Australia to support industry and workforce training and development for the delivery of the nation’s future nuclear-powered submarine fleet.
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The MoU will greatly assist the state government in the creation of high paying, skilled jobs at the Australian Marine Complex (AMC) at Henderson, as well as at HMAS Stirling, for decades to come.
Importantly, this MoU comes at a time when $87.6 million of improvements at the AMC at Henderson are also nearing completion, allowing defence works to continue at the shipyard.
Western Australia Defence Industry Minister Paul Papalia welcomed the announcement, saying, “This is an exciting time for the WA maritime defence industry with the signing of a major MoU with Huntington Ingalls Industries. It will also build on the relationship between WA and the much larger defence industry in the US ready to assist with the AUKUS partnership.”
Western Australia’s Training Minister, Simone McGurk, expanded on the comments of Minister Papalia, saying, “Signing this memorandum of understanding with Huntington Ingalls Industries will significantly help the Cook government’s efforts to expand training and job opportunities in Western Australia’s defence sector.”
“Huntington Ingalls Industries is a renowned international company with a wealth of experience manufacturing nuclear-powered submarines. This experience will be vital as we train local workers to work on the Virginia Class submarines, which will soon be operating from WA,” Minister McGurk added.
This signing is a major boost to Western Australia’s maritime defence industry which has been achieved with the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the state government and the world’s largest manufacturer of nuclear-powered submarines.
Huntington Ingalls Industries employs over 42,000 people worldwide and is a builder of the US Virginia Class submarine, the model of nuclear-powered submarine Australia is expected to purchase in the next decade.
US Virginia Class submarines will begin rotational deployment at HMAS Stirling at Garden Island from 2027 – ahead of the Royal Australian Navy’s acquisition of nuclear submarines in the 2030s as part of the AUKUS partnership.
