Australia’s defence industrial base to grow with surface fleet announcement

The Australian Government’s blueprint for the RAN’s expanded, more lethal surface combatant fleet is intended to support a sovereign continuous naval shipbuilding program and deliver direct investment in a capable, resilient and competitive defence industrial base, Defence says.

An updated Naval Shipbuilding and Sustainment Plan will be released this year. Meanwhile, the Government will increase Defence funding by $11.1 billion over the next decade from the 2024-25 Federal Budget, in May this year, to ensure the enhanced lethality surface combatant fleet is funded.

Australian shipbuilders and industry will be at the centre of delivering this future fleet, says Defence: the investment is designed to provide a clear pipeline of work and set the conditions for job creation, technology investment, export opportunities, supply chain resilience, infrastructure enhancement and economic prosperity.

Over the next ten years, this investment will support more than 3,700 direct jobs and deliver the critical infrastructure required at the Osborne shipyard in South Australia and Henderson shipbuilding complex in Western Australia, delivering on the Government’s commitment to continuous naval shipbuilding.

“The innovation and ingenuity of our dynamic defence industry is critical to the Albanese Government’s plan to deliver four times as many warships in the next 10 years compared to what had been planned by the previous government,” said Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy. “This additional investment of $11.1 billion over the next decade, will provide confidence to industry and financial security for thousands of hard-working Australians.”

Under this plan, the Albanese Government will enter into a build contract for the Hunter-class frigates that sees construction at the Osborne shipyard start this year, with the final Hunter frigate to be delivered by 2043. The Hunter-class will be immediately followed by construction of the replacement for Navy’s Hobart-class destroyers.

In South Australia, the construction of the Hunter-class frigates will sustain at least 2,000 jobs and create at least 500 new jobs over the next decade. Combined with more than 4,000 estimated jobs created to build the new Submarine Construction Yard in South Australia and the more than 4,000 direct jobs to build conventionally-armed, nuclear-powered submarines in Australia, Osborne will be at the epicentre of a naval shipbuilding jobs revolution in this country, Defence says.

In Western Australia, consolidation of the Henderson precinct is currently underway, as recommended by the Defence Strategic Review (DSR). Successful and timely consolidation will enable eight of the new general-purpose frigates to be built there and will also enable a pathway to build six new Large Optionally Crewed Surface Vessels (LOSVs) in Western Australia.

This is in addition to the strategic shipbuilder pilot which will see Army’s Landing Craft Medium and Heavy (Littoral Manoeuvre Vessels) as well as two new Evolved Cape-Class Patrol Boats built at Henderson by Austal Ships. These projects will create at least 1,200 new local jobs over the next decade.

The planned Transition Capability Assurance (TransCAP) upgrades to the eight ANZAC-class frigates will not proceed: the accelerated acquisition of a new general purpose frigate allows for a more cost effective and lethal capability outcome, Defence says.

Two ANZAC-class vessels will be decommissioned and the remainder will be upgraded with enhanced maritime strike capabilities. Defence says it will work with industry partners to redeploy the Anzac class sustainment workforce across the Henderson precinct.