BAE proposes digital shipyard for Australia

BAE Systems Australia will invest A$100 million in a new digital shipyard in Adelaide, South Australia, if the company is selected for the Royal Australian Navy's Future Frigate programme.

BAE Systems Australia said it will facilitate the transfer to Adelaide of intellectual property and technical data – including the digital ship design optimised for the production of the company's bid, the Global Combat Ship (GCS) – together with naval shipbuilding processes tailored to the requirements of the shipyard.

The design authority transfer will start in 2018, with an investment of over A$1.5 billion in design and engineering to develop the warship.

According to the company, the digital shipyard will ensure that every aspect of the ship during its design and construction is live and accessible to the crew and to those who are involved in the maintenance and upgrades of the fleet and approved suppliers.

Digitisation will also bring the ‘ship to life’ during its service life. Intelligent systems, on board and linked to those ashore, will monitor the performance of the ship and its systems allowing ship’s staff to focus on the right tasks and ensuring that the right parts and specialist help are available before they are needed.

The digital shipyard will also include inventory parts, cost and acoustic signature, and suppliers details.