The Spanish Navantia F-100 warship

The AWD Alliance and Australian Industry will soon enter an intense period of source selection for equipment and material following the commencement of the Build Phase of the AWD project and the soon to be released Request for Tenders.

This was one of the key messages delivered to Australian Industry representatives at the first of the AWD Roadshow briefing sessions held in Canberra on Monday 22 October.

AWD Program Manager, Mr Warren King, took the opportunity to highlight a major change in the decision making process for the project following contract signature. “Although the Defence Materiel Organisation retains overall responsibility for the AWD Program, procurement decisions are now being made by the AWD Alliance (DMO, ASC and Raytheon Australia) who are under contract to deliver the project,” Mr King said.

“The AWD Alliance will be making procurement decisions based on cost, capability, schedule and risk,” Mr King said. “We will also be considering through life support costs.” Mr King went on to say that although there is a 55 percent Australian Industry target, Australian Industry must remain competitive and offer good value for money.

Industry representatives are encouraged to register for the project via the AWD website at www.ausawd.com. The website also lists major engagements and announcements that are important to Australian Industry.

Deputy Program Manager, CDRE Andrew Cawley, told the audience the new ships would include an Australianised Aegis Combat System. Combat System Chief Engineer, Mr John Bagley, added that the HOBART Class combat system would be the cornerstone of the Royal Australian Navy’s future maritime network centric warfare capability.

During the presentation AWD Alliance General Manager Business, Mr Rod Equid, highlighted that non-core opportunities (those opportunities not already contracted to ASC or Raytheon Australia) represented 25 percent of business opportunities within the project.

When the Alliance contract was signed (4 October 2007) to build the three AWDs at a total cost of approximately $8 billion, it signalled the commencement of the build phase of the largest surface combatant shipbuilding project ever undertaken in Australia.

The signing follows two years of hard work by the AWD team in the design selection phase of the project. This phase concluded with the Navantia designed F100 warship being selected as the platform for Australia’s next generation HOBART Class AWDs. The first of these ships will be delivered in late 2014, followed by the second and third ships in 2016 and 2017 respectively.

The project will provide enormous opportunities for Australia’s shipbuilding, electronics and engineering industries, creating approximately1500 jobs in South Australia and another 1500 jobs throughout the rest of Australia.

Australian Industry will play a pivotal role in the success of the AWD project by providing specialised skills and equipment to the AWD Alliance. Australian Industry is expected to deliver products and services for about 55 per cent of the AWD Program over the next 15 years. This will be followed by high value through life support contracts into the middle of the century.

The Aegis equipped HOBART Class, as the Royal Australian Navy’s next generation Air Warfare Destroyer, will provide one of the world’s most capable warships. The Australian AWDs will be capable across the full spectrum of joint maritime operations, from area air defence and escort duties, right through to peacetime national tasking and diplomatic missions.

Since entering service with the Spanish Armada, F100s have worked alongside the United States Navy (USN) as the first foreign Aegis equipped ship to be fully integrated into a USN Carrier Strike Group and has successfully been deployed as the flagship of NATO’s Maritime Group Standing Reaction Force.

The Alliance Roadshow provided the ideal forum for Defence and Alliance Participants to update Australian Industry on the status of the project, explain the opportunities that exist for various sectors of Australian Industry and outline the timetable for source selection. The Roadshow also provided Industry with an opportunity to engage and network with key Alliance stakeholders and technical experts.

The AWD design that will deliver the new ship for the Royal Australian Navy.