Login
iscover
Industry and government partners across the nation have welcomed the announcement of BAE Systems and ASC as the industry partners responsible for the delivery and through-life sustainment of Australia’s future nuclear-powered submarine fleet.
To continue reading the rest of this article, please log in.
Create free account to get unlimited news articles and more!
The trilateral AUKUS agreement has been described (and correctly) as the most ambitious industrial, scientific, and military program in Australian history and will fundamentally transform the nation’s defence capability for the century to come.
BAE Systems Australia and ASC’s selection as the industry partners responsible for the delivery of Australia’s future fleet of SSN-AUKUS submarines, alongside the through-life maintenance and sustainment of Australia’s future Virginia Class and SSN-AUKUS boats, respectively, has now ended years of speculation about the delivery pathway for the nation’s future submarine fleet.
The immense opportunity presented by the multi-billion-dollar, multi-decade program will provide for Australian defence industry across the nation, with political and industry leaders from across the country welcoming the announcement and the long-term industry development programs outlined by Defence Minister Richard Marles and Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy.
Leading the charge was South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas, who said, “South Australia has much to be optimistic about. We have the best-performing economy in the country, the lowest unemployment rate in history, and for the first time, the lowest jobless rate in the nation.
“I am thrilled to see confirmation of ASC and BAE Systems as the build partners for our nuclear-powered submarines to be built right here at Osborne,” Premier Malinauskas said.
As part of its ongoing support for the AUKUS program, the South Australian government has already exchanged land with the Australian government to facilitate construction of the new submarine construction yard. Meanwhile, the next step is partnering with the Commonwealth on the design and delivery of a skills and training academy at Osborne to educate and train the submarine and surface shipbuilding workforce.
Across the continent, the West Australian government, welcomed the announcements, with WA Minister for Defence Industry Paul Papalia CSC saying, “AUKUS is now officially in Western Australia with the sustainment and maintenance effort rapidly mobilising.”
Going further, Minister Papalia stressed the importance of WA’s participation in the national defence enterprise and the opportunities stemming as a result of the AUKUS program, saying, “In addition to the hundreds of new job opportunities created with ASC, WA is also home to around 150 small and medium-sized businesses that will support nuclear submarine sustainment work, and that number will grow quickly once we start performing more frequent and more intensive maintenance tasks.
“Thousands of high-quality jobs have now been secured in naval shipbuilding and sustainment in this state, providing guaranteed employment opportunities for Western Australians for generations, and providing industry the certainty it requires to invest and grow to seize these opportunities,” Minister Papalia explained.
Brent Clark, Australian Industry & Defence Network (AIDN) chief executive officer, said, “AIDN is calling for the Albanese government to work with the UK government in order to ensure that during the design phase of this program that Australian industry is fully designed and integrated into the design, it is vitally important that this work is down upfront to ensure that the required transfer of IP, technical date and information, including the technical know-how and know-why is undertaken.
“If this is not a requirement, then the ability for Australia’s industries inclusion is at risk. It is during the initial design phase that all aspects of our Australian industries involvement can be de-risked and embedded for the entirety of the program,” Clark said.
