Another step in the process of Australia acquiring, and eventually building, nuclear powered submarines has been taken with the first three Royal Australian Navy officers assigned to US Virginia class submarines based at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. The officers, Lieutenant Commander James Heydon, Lieutenant Commander Adam Klyne and Lieutenant William Hall, were assigned after graduating…
Armour steel manufacturer Bisalloy Steel has broken into the US military shipbuilding market, snaring a purchase order for processed Australian steel from Newport News Shipbuilding. Newport News is a division of HII, the largest military shipbuilder in the US and one of two US companies that designs and builds nuclear-powered submarines. Bisalloy, which processes steel…
US President Joe Biden has revealed that Japan and the United States and Australia will create a networked system of air, missile, and defense architecture. Biden gave no details however the development is seen as a step towards Japan joining Pillar 2 of the AUKUS agreement with the United Kingdom, US and Australia. Pillar 1…
By Peter Roberts The decision that BAE Systems Australia and ASC Pty Ltd are to build SSN‑AUKUS submarines in Adelaide promises to return government-owned ASC closer to the role originally intended when then defence minister Kim Beazley established the ASC to build the Collins Class submarine. The company, which will now also sustain Virginia and…
By Peter Roberts It is amazing what a little cold hard cash – an extra $11 billion bringing the total to $38 billion over 10 years to be exact – can do. The federal government has tried to work wonders by piling the cash into the defence budget to achieve three of what seemed like…
US Congress has reportedly approved the transfer of three Virginia-class submarines – two existing vessels and one new vessel – to Australia, paving the way for nuclear powered submarines to join the RAN fleet. Both houses have now passed the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) which authorises the transfer which will see Virginia submarines…
Australia is a step closer to building conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines after the Australian and South Australian governments reached agreement on a land exchange for the new submarine construction yard at Osborne in Adelaide. The land for the yard, to employ up to 4,000 workers at its peak, will progressively move to the ownership of…
Increasing multinational collaboration among AUKUS companies in Australia’s shipbuilding sector is apparent in a new tie up between US-based Fairbanks Morse Defense (FMD) and Melbourne’s Marand Precision Engineering. FMD is a primary supplier to the US Navy of marine power and propulsion systems, while Marand has increasingly been penetrating defence from its origins in the…
Rapid welding technology manufacturer K-TIG has cut the amount of cash it is seeking from investors to fund the purchase of UK advanced manufacturer Graham Engineering Limited (GEL). The acquisition marks the company’s entry into the United Kingdom nuclear decommissioning sector, with K-TIG vying for contracts to manufacture containers to house nuclear wastes. The company…
Rapid welding technology manufacturer K-TIG’s welding processes have been selected as a potential alternative to conventional gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) of pipe joints for the US nuclear submarine construction programme. K-TIG’s Keyhole TIG / GTAW welding technology, originally developed by CSIRO, has been selected for trials by the US’s prime contractor and lead design…
