The Minister for Defence, Senator the Hon Marise Payne and the Minister for Defence Industry, The Hon Christopher Pyne MP have announced that Lockheed Martin Australia has been selected as the preferred Combat System Integrator for Australia’s Future Submarine Program, subject to further discussion on commercial matters.
Minister Payne said this is an important step in the development of Australia’s regionally superior future submarines.
“Lockheed Martin Australia will be our Combat System Integrator to partner with Defence and DCNS to design and integrate the combat system of our Future Submarine, which meets our unique capability requirements.”
“By partnering with an Australian-based company with strong links to the United States we will ensure that we get the best Australian and US technology, while ensuring that our sensitive technology is protected.”
Mr Pyne said Lockheed Martin Australia intends to team with other Australian companies to provide the local engineering capacity needed to support the program.
“The announcement again shows the Turnbull Government is setting a cracking pace on delivering on its commitment to build 12 regionally superior submarines in Adelaide,” Mr Pyne said.
“Lockheed Martin Australia’s involvement in the Future Submarine Program is likely to create around 200 skilled Australian jobs during the design and build phases of the program.
“The 200 full time combat system integration jobs form part of around 2800 jobs associated with the broader Future Submarine Program.
“I am pleased that a team of Australian companies will integrate the Future Submarine Combat system in a dedicated facility in Adelaide.
“This will see investment in engineering, project management and other high-technology industries in Australia,” he said.
Minister Pyne said Lockheed Martin Australia will draw upon expertise from Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Training, and General Dynamics – Electric Boat, both of which are based in the United States.
“Australian industry will be directly involved in the highly technical work of designing and integrating the combat system for the Future Submarine, further developing our own capability in this specialised area,” Minister Pyne said,
“This is another step towards building and harnessing the innovation potential of Australia’s defence industry, as outlined in our 2016 Defence Industry Policy Statement.”
Minister Payne and Minister Pyne acknowledged the quality of the proposals received from Lockheed Martin Australia and Raytheon Australia, which reflected the high standing of both companies, each of which is a significant partner to Defence in Australia.
“Raytheon Australia will continue to provide critical in-service support for the Collins submarines,” Minister Payne said.
