Luerssen Australia and Civmec have begun welding steel for the fourth Arafura class offshore patrol vessel (OPV) they are constructing for the Royal Australian Navy. The first two OPVs are already under construction by ASC at the Osborne naval shipyard in Adelaide, with the remaining 10 OPVs to be built at marine engineer Civmec’s Henderson…
The Victorian government has swung its weight behind Korean company Hanwha Defence’s bid to construct military vehicles in Geelong should it win a major defence contract. The government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Hanwha to forge a long-term partnership which will support the establishment of Hanwha’s defence manufacturing operations in Victoria. Hanwha is…
John Blakemore suggests moving the Royal Australian Navy fleet base from Sydney to Newcastle, creating a naval industrial zone to match the existing aerospace zone at Newcastle in New South Wales. The former steel city of Newcastle in New South Wales is to be massively transformed once again. The first major disruption was when the…
Robotic vehicle target manufacturer GaardTech has secured a large export order for its silhouette targets from the British army. The battle group size formation of target tanks, AFVs and anti-aircraft vehicles will be used in a planned on target live fire training event. GaardTech’s steel targets are built as exact replicas of a military force’s…
By Andrew Spence A small forestry town in South Australia has beaten metropolitan Melbourne to be chosen as the site of a hi-tech laminated timber plant. Timberlink will begin construction of the $59 million plant alongside its recently upgraded softwood sawmill at Tarpeena, South Australia next year with completion due in 2023. The company said…
2020 was a big year for the Australian Manufacturing Forum Linkedin group and its @AuManufacturing news and analysis website, but 2021 promises to be even bigger. Riding on a wave of renewed enthusiasm for local manufacturing the Forum, the largest on social media, passed 6,000 members, and is fast heading towards 7,000. And @AuManufacturing, propelled…
F-35A Lightning joint strike fighter achieves operational status Initial Operational Capability (IOC) has been declared for for Australia’s F-35A joint strike fighter fleet. Built by Lockheed Martin, the aircraft will play a crucial role in national security. The F-35 programme was a catalyst for evolving the capabilities of numerous SME manufacturers whch are now part…
The Holden name was officially buried by its GM parent company on December 1, ending its 60 year reign as Australian own car. Most of the company’s widespread dealer network have converted their showrooms to other brands and all Holden branded cars were deemed to have been sold at year’s end. It was a dismal…
iKAD Engineering buts AML3D’s Arcemy additive manufacturing system Perth structural engineering business iKAD Engineering (pictured) has purchased AML3D’s Arcemy robotic Wire Arc Manufacturing (WAM) system to rapidly manufacture large scale structures of multiple length and diameter dimensions. The robotic, dual wire feed Arcemy module will initially manufacture pipes with elbows and flanges between four and…
Adelaide’s Fleet Space Technologies has announced Seven Sisters, a venture to send nanosatellites and sensors to the Moon to search for water and resources. The mission, under secret development for a year, involves OZ Minerals, The University of Adelaide, UNSW, Unearthed, Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems, Inc. and Fugro and supports NASA’s Artemis Programme. Fleet Space’s Centauri…
