Republicans and Democrats have agreed to sell three Virginia class nuclear-powered submarines to Australia in the early 2030s according to reports. The agreement would see the sale added to the US Congress’s National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024. Democratic congressman Joe Courtney said: “For the first time since the launch of the USS…
BAE Systems’ Hunter Class Frigate Program has successfully completed its Preliminary Design Review (PDR), with a celebratory event to mark the completion held at the Company’s Osborne shipyard to mark the milestone. The review, which has been running since July, is a technical assessment that ensures the design is operationally effective and underpins the more…
The University of Adelaide has received a federal government commitment to fund the training of hundreds more domestic undergraduate students to join the nuclear-related defence workforce of the future. Under the Federal Government’s Nuclear-Powered Submarines (NPS) programme the university has been allocated of $38,634,835 between 2024 and 2030 to deliver an additional 700 Commonwealth Supported…
By Peter Roberts The federal government has moved to secure the future of Austal’s Perth shipbuilding operation and its Henderson yard (pictured) in Western Australia. Defence has entered into a new strategic partnership with Austal which will see 18 of the Army’s new Landing Craft Medium built at Henderson. Austal will also deliver two new…
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…
The manufacture of a proof-of-concept mast designed to carry surveillance radars and other sensors on board Australia’s Hunter class frigates is now underway. BAE Systems Australia’s shipyard in Henderson, Western Australia, has begun manufacturing the aluminium mast, the first of the type which will ultimately feature Australian manufactured L-Band high power active phase array radar.…
BAE Systems Australia Maritime Managing Director Craig Lockhart has hit back at criticism of the construction of Hunter class frigates for the Royal Australian Navy at the Osborne Naval Shipyard in Adelaide. In an opinion article published on the company website Lockhart said the go-to narrative that the project was ‘troubled’ came from those who…
The federal government has moved to extend the life of the Collins class submarine fleet which will then remain in service until the arrival of the first nuclear submarines in a decade’s time. The government said in a statement it was committed to a ‘potent, enduring and agile submarine capability’, and would establish an independent…
The construction of offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) for the Royal Australian Navy by Luerssen Australia is the latest to be listed a Defence Project of Concern by the federal government. The construction of Arafura-class OPVs has experienced delays in delivery of both the vessels and the associated support system, with schedule delays first emerging in…
By Peter Roberts One of the most recurring themes in defence media nowadays is that Australia should build more Hobart class Air Warfare Destroyers (picture). Hardly a week goes by without a story appearing somewhere of Spanish shipbuilder Navantia who designed the ships ‘ramping up their campaign’ to build more of the vessels to add…
