BlueScope steel delivered for Hunter frigate build

BAE Systems Australia subsidiary, ASC Shipbuilding has begun taking delivery of the first Australian steel to be used in the construction of Australia’s new Hunter class frigates.

Having just taken over the new all digital shipyard from government-owned Australian Naval Infrastructure, ASC Shipbuilding will receive more than 1,500 tonnes of steel plate from BlueScope Steel AIS.

The $2.6 million contract is one of the first delivered to the shipbuilding site at Osborne south on the Port River in Adelaide.

With the frigate prototyping phase on track to commence this month, the steel will be used to build five representative ship ‘blocks’.

During this phase, the processes, systems, tools, facilities and workforce competencies will be extensively tested and refined before construction commences on the first frigate in 2022.

ASC Shipbuilding will design and build nine Hunter class ships, which will be among the world’s most advanced anti-submarine warfare frigates, for the Royal Australian Navy.

Picture: BAE Systems Australia

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