Australian businesses that supply equipment and services, from scaffolding and pipes to deck coverings and insulation, will today learn how to secure an estimated $20 million in contracts through the Hunter Class Frigate Program, providing local jobs and building the defence industry of the future.
More than 150 businesses from around Australia will converge in Adelaide for a procurement update that launches the process to bid for work during the Hunter program’s prototyping phase, which commences next year.
Starting in December 2020, five ship blocks will be built at the Osborne Naval Shipyard, in South Australia.
During this phase Australian businesses that supply minor equipment, materials and services can bid for an estimated $20 million in contracts across two specific supplier categories.
In one of those categories, known as “category D”, the Hunter program is committed to achieving 100 per cent Australian suppliers.
The prototyping phase is a crucial stage in the program where all the processes, systems, tools, facilities and workforce competencies will be tested and refined before construction on the first frigate commences in 2022.
The $35 billion Hunter program will deliver nine state-of the-art anti-submarine warfare frigates to the Royal Australian Navy, and is the biggest surface ship project in Australia’s defence history.