Australia releases frigate RfT
Australia released its awaited RfT for nine Future Frigates on the last day of March, a competition that will be worth $26.8 billion for one of the three shortlisted designers.
The three companies in the running to win the Sea 5000 Phase 1 project, lauded as the largest frigate shipbuilding programme in the world, are BAE Systems, Fincantieri and Navantia.
The release of the RfT had actually been moved forward after the three were shortlisted in April 2016. Australia is trying to abbreviate the gap between the end of Air Warfare Destroyer construction and the start of the Future
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