BAE to bid for Australian patrol boat programme
BAE Systems Australia has announced that it will bid for Australia’s patrol boat replacement programme. The Request for Tender for the project was released by the Australian government on 5 March.
Australia is seeking 21 patrol vessels to replace its current Pacific class vessels which are reaching the end of their service life. It is a central requirement of the programme that the vessels are sourced from an Australian supplier.
David Allott, CEO, BAE Systems Australia, said that the company would draw on its experience in the Australian ship-building industry to put forward a ‘very competitive bid’.
Allott said: ‘We have a supply chain that includes around 800 small and medium Australian businesses that will be very keen to contribute to this programme and to retain some of their capabilities as well.
‘This capability will be critical should the government decide to maintain a sovereign shipbuilding capability in Australia.’
BAE Systems has most recently delivered the largest ever warship of the Royal Australian Navy fleet, HMAS Canberra. It is currently constructing the second of class Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD), NUSHIP Adelaide, which will be completed later in 2015.
BAE System is also the prime contractor for the Anti-Ship Missile Defence Upgrade programme on the ANZAC Frigates and is also working on the air warfare destroyer programme as sub-contractor to ASC.
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.
