The Australian government has awarded BAE Systems a contract to further refine its design of the Type 26 Global Combat Ship (GCS) for the Royal Australian Navy under the SEA 5000 (Future Frigate) program.
BAE Systems said that a team of the company’s Australian engineers would be deployed to the UK to join BAE’s design team in coming months to facilitate the transfer of technology to Australia.
This is part of the Australian Department of Defence’s Competitive Evaluation Process for the program. The Commonwealth has also entered into similar agreements with Fincantieri and Navantia.
BAE Systems Australia Chief Executive, Glynn Phillips , said: “We look forward to demonstrating the adaptability and maturity of the Global Combat Ship design to meet Australia’s requirements for an Anti-Submarine Warship frigate. The Global Combat Ship design is the most modern, adaptable and flexible of all possible options available today, and I am confident that we will be able to demonstrate that it is the best able to meet the requirements of the Royal Australian Navy.”
BAE also revealed that a 3-dimensional visualisation suite would be delivered to Australia to help improve understanding of the features of the ship design. This would, according to the company, enable conversations about design modifications the Royal Australian Navy requires and would help demonstrate how the Global Combat Ship could accommodate the required CEA Technologies’ phased-array radar system.