Defence manufacturing giant Thales Australia has secured a $2 billion contract to maintain and sustain Australia’s naval fleet in Sydney.
Under the seven-year contract, Thales will serve as the Regional Maintenance Provider for the new Regional Maintenance Centre at Defence’s Garden Island Precinct.
The project is expected to create up to 120 direct defence industry jobs and around 800 jobs in the broader industrial ship repair workforce. The contract includes incentives to ensure local and regional small and medium businesses are given a fair opportunity to compete for work.
The new centre will support the sustainment of the Royal Australian Navy’s Canberra class Landing Helicopter Docks, Hobart class Guided Missile Destroyers and HMAS Choules Landing Ship Dock.
The facility is part of a new national approach to sustainment, establishing a consolidated network of maintenance centres around Australia to support continuous naval shipbuilding and respond to a more challenging strategic environment.
The Thales deal is part of the Australian government’s ongoing commitment to partnering with industry as recommended by the Defence Strategic Review, Australian Defence said in a media release.
“I am pleased to be at Garden Island to announce this new $2 billion partnership with Thales Australia, which will create almost a thousand secure, high skilled, local jobs in defence industry,” said Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy. “Growing our sovereign naval shipbuilding industrial capability is not just good for jobs, it’s imperative for our national security.
