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Defence Minister Christopher Pyne and Defence Industry Minister Linda Reynolds have announced expressions of interest (EOI) are now open to support the development of the SEA 1000 Attack Class submarine construction yard.
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EOIs have been released for the supply and installation of 18 major items of equipment for the submarine construction yard at Osborne Naval Shipyard in South Australia.
Defence Minister Christopher Pyne said the yard will be a purpose designed facility responsible for building the future submarine fleet.
"Naval Group has released expressions of interest on the Commonwealth’s Industry Capability Network website for the supply of 18 pieces of equipment to be installed within the yard," he said.
As part of the program ramp up, Naval Group Australia has commenced planning activities for the procurement of capital equipment related to the submarine construction yard (SCY) to be built as part of the Future Submarines Program (FSP).
"This includes pipe bending, milling, boring, shearing and guillotining machines, as well as automated storage systems which will be installed by Naval Group on completion of the procurement process," Minister Pyne added.
Newly appointed Minister for Defence Industry Linda Reynolds said Naval Group was also expected to open EOIs for an engineering company to project manage the detailed design, procurement installation and commissioning of the Platform Land Based Test Facility to be constructed as part of the future SCY.
"The Platform Land Based Test Facility is critical for testing the main propulsion systems, prior to the first submarine being built," Minister Reynolds said.
The SCY is part of the Australian Naval Infrastructure (ANI), which will be responsible for the delivery of of a state-of-the-art construction yard where the fleet of 12 Attack Class submarines will be built. The new infrastructure will support the continuous build programs for warships and submarines.
Minister Reynolds added, "These expressions of interest mark another step in the development of Australia’s continuous naval shipbuilding capability, which will create thousands of jobs over the coming years."
Infrastructure development at the Osborne Naval Shipyard will modernise ship construction systems and processes in Australia to improve shipyard productivity and reduce the cost of Australian build programs. The government established ANI in March 2017, which will facilitate the development and construction of new infrastructure at the Osborne shipbuilding facility, as outlined in the Naval Shipbuilding Plan released on 16 May 2017.
ANI is a nation-building commitment by the government of Australia and sees the establishment of state-of-the-art infrastructure for the domestic manufacture of world-class naval vessels.
Naval Group has been identified as the prime contractor for the $50 billion SEA 1000 Future Submarine program to build 12 regionally-superior submarines for 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.
The 12 vessels will be built by Naval Group at a specialist submarine shipyard at Osborne, South Australia. The Commonwealth government’s 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 RAN at a time when 50 per cent of the world’s submarines will be operating in the Indo-Pacific region
To date Naval Group has engaged with over 1,100 Australian suppliers through EOIs, requests for information, supplier visits and industry events to develop an in depth understanding of Australian industry capability. Register your interest or to receive further information is available at the Industry Capability Network gateway and register for the Future Submarine Project here.
Stephen Kuper
Steve has an extensive career across government, defence industry and advocacy, having previously worked for cabinet ministers at both Federal and State levels.
