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Naval Group has signed a subcontract with French company Jeumont Electric for the design of the main electric propulsion equipment for Australia’s future submarines, the Attack Class.
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Jeumont Electric will establish a local subsidiary, Jeumont Electric Australia, to transfer the capabilities to support the operation and sustainment propulsion system, and will be the engineering design authority providing training, conducting various levels of maintenance tasks and managing spare parts for the main electric propulsion equipment.
Defence also confirmed that the "wider Australian industry will also have the opportunity to supply components of the main electric propulsion equipment for the Attack Class submarine".
"The selection of Jeumont Electric recognises the company’s significant experience on submarine programs, including Australia’s Collins Class submarine program," the Department of Defence said in a release.
"The engagement of Jeumont Electric has been undertaken with the objectives of maximising Australian industry involvement in the Attack Class submarine program, and ensuring we continue to develop the sovereign capacity to build, operate and sustain our submarines in Australia."
The agreement marks the third subcontract for major subsystems for the Attack Class submarine established by Naval Group, with MTU winning the contract for the design of the diesel generator rectifiers earlier this year, and Schneider Electric France winning the design of the main DC switchboards.
Jeumont Electric also recently signed a heads of agreement with ASC to identify joint business opportunities across Australia’s Collins Class and Attack Class submarine programs, as well as Australia’s marine generator and rotating electrical machinery market.
The Attack Class submarines will be delivered as part of the $50 billion SEA 1000 Future Submarine program. Naval Group build 12 regionally-superior submarines to the Royal Australian Navy.
Naval Group's successful Shortfin Barracuda design, which serves as the basis for the new Attack Class, is a conventionally-powered variant of the nuclear-powered Barracuda fast attack submarine currently under construction for the French Navy.
Lockheed Martin will provide the AN/BYG-1 Combat control System, which provides an open-architecture submarine combat control system for analysing and tracking submarine and surface-ship contacts, providing situational awareness as well as the capability to target and employ torpedoes and missiles.
The 12 vessels will be built by NAVAL Group at a specialist submarine shipyard at Osborne, South Australia. The Commonwealth Government’s Australian Naval Infrastructure (ANI) program will support the development of the future submarine shipyards.
The Commonwealth Government formally signed the strategic partnering agreement (SPA) with NAVAL Group in February 2019 ahead of confirming the final design specifications and requirements for the Attack class submarines.
The Attack class will enter service with the Royal Australian Navy at a time when 50 percent of the world’s submarines will be operating in the Indo-Pacific region.
