BAE aims to boost RAN Hunter frigate supply chain
BAE Systems is offering A$20 million in contracts to suppliers to support Australia’s Hunter-class Type 26-derived frigate acquisition.
It is opening up opportunities to 150 businesses from Australia at a meeting in Adelaide, offering a procurement update that will also launch a bid for work on the programme’s prototyping phase that begins this year.
This will include Australian businesses that supply equipment and services, including scaffolding and pipes to deck coverings and insulation.
During this phase, Australian businesses can bid for contracts in two specific supplier categories. One category known as ‘category D’ is committed to achieving 100% Australian suppliers.
The prototyping phase is a crucial stage in the programme, BAE says, during which all the processes, systems, tools, facilities and workforce competencies will be tested and refined before construction on the first frigate commences in 2022.
The $35 billion Hunter programme will deliver nine anti-submarine warfare frigates to the Royal Australian Navy, and is the biggest surface ship project in Australia’s defence history.
As of December 2020, five vessels will be built at ASC’s Osborne Naval Shipyard, in South Australia.
‘The Hunter programme is committed to maximising opportunities for Australian suppliers through supply contracts and initiatives to nurture and grow small-to-medium sized businesses,’ managing director of ASC Shipbuilding, Craig Lockhart, said.
‘Today’s procurement update is not a just an information session – this is a genuine opportunity for our team to help Australian businesses bid for upcoming contracts to supply equipment and materials for the prototyping blocks, like scaffolding, pipes, steel, deck coverings, cables and insulation, as well as services, like outfitting and painting.’
Related Programmes in Defence Insight
Project SEA 5000 Phase 1 (4-6) [Australia]
Project SEA 5000 Phase 1 (1-3) [Australia]
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
You may also like
More from Naval Warfare
-
![Suppliers await next step in Australia’s mine warfare transition]()
Suppliers await next step in Australia’s mine warfare transition
Australia’s mine countermeasure capability remains in flux as the Huon-class nears retirement, but accelerated investment in autonomous systems is opening a path for industry.
-
![Can the US Navy ask Indo-Pacific allies to do more while training with them less?]()
Can the US Navy ask Indo-Pacific allies to do more while training with them less?
As the Iran War draws US ships and marine corps units away from the Indo-Pacific, curtailed exercises and a temporary carrier gap are exposing tensions between Washington’s demand for more self-reliant allies and the joint training needed to realise that ambition.
-
![How could Rheinmetall’s GMF 140 fit with ongoing programmes in North America?]()
How could Rheinmetall’s GMF 140 fit with ongoing programmes in North America?
With Canada committed to its River-class replacement and the USN pursuing a lower-cost frigate, Rheinmetall will need to demonstrate where the GMF 140 can fill a capability gap in the North American fleet.
-
![Australian industry programme builds pipeline for Virginia-class sustainment]()
Australian industry programme builds pipeline for Virginia-class sustainment
Australian businesses can now bid to support Virginia-class submarine sustainment in Western Australia, as momentum around the Henderson Defence Precinct also builds.
-
![South Korea, Japan and Turkey vie for US shipbuilding access in future frigate contest]()
South Korea, Japan and Turkey vie for US shipbuilding access in future frigate contest
Washington’s search for a foreign-built frigate could hand South Korea, Japan and Turkey a larger prize than a double-hull order: a foothold inside the US shipbuilding industrial base.
-
![Japan’s FY2027 budget bets on stand-off systems to offset demographic decline]()
Japan’s FY2027 budget bets on stand-off systems to offset demographic decline
Japan’s FY2027 defence budget backs stand-off strike, a 17-aircraft MQ-9B buy and a declared bid to lead the world in uncrewed maritime assets, alongside new frigates, submarines and support ships.
