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Defence has gathered to launch Project of Concern efforts regarding the Arafura Class offshore patrol vessels project that has experienced significant delays since its original scheduling.
Announcing the Project of Concern earlier this week, the joint summit will bring government and industry heads together to address the challenges facing the offshore patrol vessels (OPV) project so far and establish methods to support improved outcomes.
Originally listed in 2023, citing vessel and industry support delays being critical issues facing the OPV project, three years later they are now being addressed in a Canberra meeting.
In the independent Enhanced Lethality Surface Fleet Review (2024), it found that “the OPV is an inefficient use of resources for civil maritime security operations and does not possess the survivability and self-defence systems to contribute to a surface combatant mission”.
This resulted in the 12 vessels originally planned in the billion-dollar project reduced to six.
Since it’s Project of Concern listing, a remediation plan has been established by Defence and Civmec Defence in an attempt to quell these issues and has successfully reached milestones such as the acceptance of three OPVs.
However, industry leaders and academics have noted that the uncertainty and unanswered questions remain a major point of public curiosity towards the Arafura Class project established under SEA 1180.
“Ultimately, the government placed SEA 1180 on the projects of concern on 20 October 2023, the naughty corner for Defence’s most underachieving projects, but didn’t publicly state why or what needed to be done to remediate the project,” wrote Marcus Hellyer, head of research at Strategic Analysis Australia.
Adding that industry partners and government alike have committed to continuing efforts to remediate the challenges, Defence said steady work with the Royal Australian Navy is needed to achieve the revised aims of SEA 1180.
“While these milestones mark important progress, sustained momentum is required to ensure the delivery of this naval capability,” Defence said in a press statement.
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