Naval Group has signed an agreement with Australian government-owned shipyard ASC that provides a framework for collaboration on the Sea 1000 project to build 12 Attack-class submarines for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).
Under the agreement – announced on 25 February – Naval Group and ASC will collaborate through separate commercial arrangements to provide a range of services to each other under the AUD50 billion (USD35 billion) programme. Naval Group said the accord “identifies ways [in which it and ASC] can work together in a closer and more effective manner”.
Naval Group and ASC have signed a framework agreement to support collaboration on the programme to build Attack-class submarines. (Naval Group)
Activities under the agreement include co-ordinating resources to support workforce development, collaborating on supporting Naval Group to develop a health and safety programme in Australia, and drawing on each other’s existing supply chains to develop these networks and related opportunities for Australian industry.
Naval Group and ASC will also establish joint working groups to identify, develop, and recommend other collaboration opportunities.
In a statement, Australia’s Minister for Defence Christopher Pyne said the new agreement is a “great early step to ensure ASC has a role in delivering the Attack-class [submarine] as well as sustaining our existing Collins-class [submarine] fleet .… The agreement demonstrates the close co-operation needed to grow the submarine workforce for many decades to come.”
The new accord was signed two weeks after the Australian government and Naval Group signed a strategic partnering agreement (SPA) that, according to statements issued at the time, set out the “principles of co-operation” between the two partners on the Sea 1000 project.
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