Australian DoD launches new tender to maintain Hobart-class destroyers

The Australian Department of Defence (DoD) has issued a tender for a capability life cycle manager (CLCM) of the Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN) three Hobart-class destroyers.

As informed, the Hobart-class destroyers will be the first major class of ships to be sustained through a CLCM arrangement, which has been timed to support the Hobart-class destroyer upgrade project. The CLCM will work collaboratively with personnel in Defence’s Systems Program Office, which oversees the sustainment and maintenance of the Hobart-class destroyers, as well as other organisations providing through-life asset management for the class.

The fooficial revealed that the tender is a step forward in the fulfillment of the Future Maritime Sustainment Model under Plan Galileo. Plan Galileo will ensure the significantly larger and more complex fleet that will result is effectively sustained.

“Our new approach to sustainment under Plan Galileo will deliver sustainment support to the larger and more complex fleet that will result from the continuous naval shipbuilding program,” Rear Admiral Wendy Malcolm said.

The CLCM will implement a common baseline of systems, standard processes and contractual terms to drive commonality across navy assets. This will ensure more effective use of resources and aim to reduce the complexity for the supply chain for future capabilities, according to the statement.

“The CLCM’s role is critical to asset management and engineering functions, optimising an asset’s capability, including cost-effective vessel sustainment, and providing capability enhancement and integration services for capability updates and upgrades required over time,” Malcolm added.

The tender will close on January 21.

RAN’s Hobart-class air warfare destroyers reached final operational capability (FOC) after the third ship completed the test and evaluation period in August this year.