The US Navy has exercised $74.4 million (US$48 million) of additional options under a previously awarded contract for shipbuilder Austal to perform maintenance on Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) deployed to the Western Pacific, Indian Ocean, and regional countries. The original 2021 contract to maintain the vessels was for US$72.5m to perform the sustainment works, with…
Defence engineering firm Babcock Australasia has launched a new International Engineering & Technology Hub in Melbourne, as part of increased research and development efforts including projects under the AUKUS pact. The $3.5 million Abbotsford facility will drive engineering initiatives supporting Babcock’s global operation and is designed as a collaborative environment for engineers and technologists to…
The federal government has down-selected two shipbuilders, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems, to progress designs for Australia’s future general purpose frigates under the SEA 3000 programme. In May, Defence released an approach to market to five shipbuilders, with Defence now planning to work with the two industry partners to further develop the proposals…
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…
Submarine maintenance and construction staff working at government-owned shipyard ASC in Adelaide have been given wage parity with colleagues doing similar work in Perth – but it has taken a year long wage dispute to achieve it. In a dispute that saw ASC CEO Stuart Whiley dig in against union demands only to eventually decide…
HMAS Parramatta – the final ship in the Anzac Midlife Capability Assurance Program (AMCAP) – recently had its new mast installed, as an 8-year upgrade programme for the Royal Australian Navy vessels nears completion. The new mast is the eighth to be manufactured by by BAE Systems Australia at its Henderson shipyard in Perth, through…
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.…
The US arm of shipbuilder Austal has celebrated the start of construction for a new manufacturing facility for submarine modules (MMF3) at its shipyard in Mobile, Alabama. This new building, scheduled to be fully operational in late 2026, will significantly increase Austal USA’s capacity to support the U.S. Navy Submarine Industrial Base (SIB). The new…
SwarmFarm Robotics’ farm robot rolls out of new Toowoomba factory Farm robotic vehicle manufacturer SwarmFarm Robotics has released images (pictured) of the very first SwarmBot as it rolled out of the company’s new manufacturing plant in Toowoomba. SwarmBot is an autonomous platform that can be customised for tasks faced in local crop farming systems. SwarmFarm…
What were the five biggest stories of the week? Here’s what visitors to @AuManufacturing were reading. 5) Green hydrogen plant breaks ground at Wodonga Ground has been broken in Wodonga, Victoria today on one of Australia’s largest renewable hydrogen plants – a facility that is predicted to cut CO2 emissions by around 4,000 tonnes each year from…
