The “sustainment contract” is part of a government
pledge to keep the diesel-electric powered Collins-class
fleet “a potent strike and deterrence capability”, Defence Industry Minister
Pat Conroy said in a statement.
The contract will be
“directly ensuring job security for more than 1,100 highly skilled workers”,
with the work carried out in the towns of Henderson in Western Australia and
Osborne in South Australia, Conroy said.
Osborne is where ASC
and Britain’s BAE Systems will jointly build Australia’s fleet of
nuclear-powered submarines, the core component of the 2021 AUKUS pact between Britain, the U.S. and Australia. Until that work begins later this decade, the
shipyard is where much of the maintenance is performed on the existing
Collins-class fleet.
Conroy said it was part of the centre-left
government’s A$4 to A$5 billion commitment to the submarines, which are planned
to operate into the 2040s.
($1 = 1.5272
Australian dollars)