Thales’s $2bn navy maintenance contract win

The federal government has announced a continuation of Thales Australia’s long standing role maintaining Royal Australian Navy ships with a new $2 billion contract to maintain and sustain Australia’s naval fleet in Sydney.

French-owned Thales Australia has been appointed as the Regional Maintenance Provider for the new Regional Maintenance Centre East at Defence’s Garden Island Precinct.

This will create up to 120 direct defence industry jobs and around 800 jobs in the broader industrial ship repair workforce, ensuring Australia has the sovereign industrial base to maintain and sustain Australia’s naval fleet according to the government.

The seven-year contract includes incentives to ensure local and regional small and medium businesses are given a fair opportunity to compete for work.

The new maintenance centre will support the sustainment of Navy’s Canberra class Landing Helicopter Docks, Hobart class Guided Missile Destroyers and HMAS Choules Landing Ship Dock (pictured).

The Minister for Defence Industry, Pat Conroy said: “Growing our sovereign naval shipbuilding industrial capability is not just good for jobs, it’s imperative for our national security.

“I’m focussed on making it easier for local industry to partner with Defence, and this partnership with Thales Australia will help to do that.”

It is a part of a new national approach to sustainment, establishing a consolidated network of maintenance centres around Australia, to support continuous naval shipbuilding and respond to a more challenging strategic environment.

“Defence’s partnership with Thales Australia at Garden Island demonstrates the government’s ongoing commitment to partnering with industry as recommended by the Defence Strategic Review.”

Picture: Defence/ABBM Daniel Goodman/HMAS Choules departs Fleet Base East in Sydney