Government’s latest defence acquisition – ‘landing craft heavy’

The federal government has continued a run of announcements of major defence acquisitions, selecting a design by Damen Shipyards Group as the preferred option for the Australian Defence Force’s Landing Craft Heavy vessel (pictured). The announcement is a step in the establishment of a littoral fleet which is expected to create 1,100 direct jobs and…

Austal shows (again) why it should remain Australian controlled

By Peter Roberts Shipbuilder Austal has again shown at its annual general meeting the folly of Australia’s apparent unconcern should the company fall under foreign ownership. In September Korea’s Hanwha gave up on a takeover of Austal, a deal that was waved through by Defence Minister Richard Marles as of no concern to the government.…

Austal USA buys AM machine from SPEE3D

Cold spray additive manufacturing company SPEE3D has shared that shipbuilder Austal USA has purchased a WarpSPEE3D AM unit for application development purposes. In a statement on Wednesday (Melbourne time), SPEE3D said Austal USA’s Advanced Technologies division is “a leader in cutting-edge technology implementation for defense and maritime applications” and heads a team of industry partners…

WA defence precinct to deliver continuous naval shipbuilding

The federal government will establish a consolidated Commonwealth-owned Defence Precinct at Western Australia’s Henderson shipyard to underpin continuous naval shipbuilding and nuclear submarine maintenance and support in the order of 10,000 well-paid, high-skilled local jobs. The government will make an initial investment of $127 million over three years to progress planning, consultations, preliminary design and…

Best of the week — the five most popular stories among readers, September 23 – September 27, 2024

What were the five biggest stories of the week? Here’s what visitors to @AuManufacturing were reading. 5) FIRB approval unlocks payments for Iron Road Mining and green hydrogen developer Iron Road has received Foreign Investment Review Board approval for its giant Cape Hardy hydrogen and metals manufacturing project on the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. FIRB approval unlocks $4.5…

Korea’s Hanwha abandons takeover of Austal – media reports

By Peter Roberts Korea’s Hanwha defence group has abandoned its takeover bid for Australia’s most successful indigenous owned defence manufacturer Austal, according to media reports this morning. The takeover was ended in a letter to Austal from Hanwha Ocean CEO Hyek Woong Kwon titled ‘Termination of discussions with Austal’. The company blamed Austal’s ‘insistence’ that…