Australian Minister for Defence Marise Payne announced September 30 that Lockheed Martin Australia has been selected as the preferred Combat System Integrator for Australia’s Future Submarine Program.
Financial details of the contract are subject to further discussion, it was noted.
According to the announcement, Lockheed Martin will partner with the Royal Australian Navy and the submarine builder DCNS to carry out work on the 12 submarines Australia intends to build.
“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,” Minister Payne said.
Christopher Pyne, Minister for Defence Industry, said Lockheed Martin Australia intends to team with other Australian companies to provide the local engineering capacity needed to support the program.
“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,” Pyne said.
Back in September 2015, Lockheed Martin Australia announced it would open a submarine combat system laboratory in Mawson Lakes in November to support the company’s pursuit of the Royal Australian Navy’s Future Submarine project SEA 1000.
Construction at Mawson Lakes began on July 27, 2015 and was expected to open in November. An expanded second phase with a secure area was scheduled to open in the third quarter of 2016.
According to Lockheed Martin, the laboratory will include a reconfigurable submarine command center to test and validate the Royal Australian Navy’s concept of operations in a simulated operational environment.
Lockheed Martin is also responsible for the installation of combat systems on the three Australian Aegis-equipped Air Warfare Destroyer ships. The ships are equipped with Lockheed Martin’s Aegis weapon system including the SPY-1D(V) radar.