Pacific 2017: Leonardo expands Australian footprint
Leonardo will establish a new site in Western Australia through its subsidiary Selex ES Australia, the company announced on 3 October.
The new facility, location in Rockingham, South of Perth, will be the regional hub for the company’s engineering, integration, installation and through life support, with a focus on defence electronics and naval programmes due to the site’s proximity to the Hendersen shipyards and Garden Island.
This will be Leonardo’s third site in Australia, adding to its current presence in Melbourne in Victoria and Nowra in New South Wales. Further expansion is planned over the coming 18 months.
The new site will also play a key role in Leonardo's work on the SEA1442 phase 4 solution, under which Leonardo is providing an integrated suite of communications capabilities for the upgrade and modernisation of Australia's ANZAC frigates.
Michael Lenton, executive chairman of Selex ES Australia said: ‘Leonardo is serious about its investment in Australia and has taken big steps over the past 12 months to significantly grow local capability as well as building and strengthening the national supply chain.
‘Leonardo has been able to grasp the opportunities around the recent thrust in naval capability procurement and we are intent on demonstrating that our local investment in skills and people is as intense as our transfer of technology from our global operations, even ahead of the next round of naval contracts.’
More from Naval Warfare
-
![Future of the US Navy’s Arleigh Burke programme remains unclear]()
Future of the US Navy’s Arleigh Burke programme remains unclear
The US Navy does not have a precise date for the award of the procurement contract for the third Arleigh Burke-class destroyer despite having the funds to advance with the programme in FY2025.
-
![US Navy may look to foreign suppliers to accelerate shipbuilding programmes]()
US Navy may look to foreign suppliers to accelerate shipbuilding programmes
The US Navy (USN) is currently reassessing its acquisition efforts and seeking ways to reduce the multiple delays across the shipbuilding initiatives.
-
![Australia commissions HMAS Arafura three-and-a-half years behind schedule]()
Australia commissions HMAS Arafura three-and-a-half years behind schedule
The Royal Australian Navy has finally commissioned the first Arafura-class offshore patrol vessel – more than three years behind schedule – highlighting the programme’s delays, design compromises and ongoing industrial restructuring.
-
![Italy orders two ships as work begins on others along with deliveries and updates]()
Italy orders two ships as work begins on others along with deliveries and updates
The Italian Navy is being refreshed with two new ships ordered, while in the past six months steel was cut for a new frigate, an enhanced frigate was delivered and Horizon-class frigates passed a design review.
