Naval Group Australia has inked a Design Services Subcontract (DSSC) with local engineering company, KBR, to support the design of the Future Submarine Construction Yard – a vital piece of the Osborne Naval shipbuilding precinct.
Brent Clark, Interim CEO, Naval Group Australia, said the submarine construction yard concept design will include the facilities and infrastructure required to construct a fleet of twelve regionally superior Future Submarines for the Royal Australian Navy.
“We will be utilising Naval Group’s extensive experience building and maintaining nuclear and conventional submarines for the French, Brazilian, Malaysian, Indian and Chilean navies to ensure that the facility is appropriately equipped to build Australia’s Future Submarine fleet” Mr Clark said.
The two companies will assemble a team of engineers to undertake design workshops within Australia and France in February 2018 to inform the concept design and facilitate knowledge transfer.
Greg Conlon, KBR President Asia Pacific, said the team will draw on Naval Group’s international experience as a reference point for Australia’s Future Submarine yard.
“KBR is excited to be providing our expertise to Naval Group for this nationally significant project that will deliver a world-class future submarine facility, a significant component of the infrastructure enabler of Australia’s Naval Shipbuilding Plan. Having designed the original Collins submarine facility in South Australia in the 1980’s and more recently the Air Warfare Destroyer shipyard, KBR brings extensive local defence infrastructure engineering and program management experience to this important project” Mr Conlon added.
“We anticipate this contract will employee around 100 South Australians and we look forward to working with Naval Group and the Australian Government to maximise opportunities for local industry.”
Defence Industry Minister Christopher Pyne congratulated KBR on securing the $7 million contract.
“KBR has extensive experience in this field and it’s great they have partnered with Naval Group Australia to complete the concept design for the state of the art construction yard where our Future Submarine fleet will be built,” the Minister said.
The design of the Future Submarine Construction Yard will continue throughout 2018.
