The Australian Department of Defence has taken a significant step toward acquiring nine new anti-submarine warfare frigates for the Royal Australian Navy.
The department announced March 31 that it has asked three ship designers – BAE Systems of the United Kingdom, Fincantieri of Italy and Navantia of Spain — to submit proposals for the Future Frigate project, also known as SEA 5000.
Image: BAE Systems
The department plans to begin evaluating responses to its request for tender (RFT) later this year and announce a winning designer in 2018. The three firms — BAE Systems with the Type 26 Frigate, Fincantieri with the FREMM Frigate, and Navantia with a redesigned F100 — have been working with the department since August 2015 to refine their designs.
The department intends to start frigate construction in 2020 in Adelaide in South Australia. The first frigate is slated to enter service in the late 2020s.
The government expects to spend more than $35 billion Australian ($26 billion U.S.) on the new vessels, which will replace the navy’s current fleet of eight Anzac-class frigates.
“The nine frigates will have sufficient range and endurance to operate effectively throughout maritime Southeast Asia and will be able to be deployed from forward bases, such as in the Middle East,” the department says. “The frigates will be equipped with a range of offensive and self-protection systems” and will incorporate a phased-array radar developed by Australia’s CEA Technologies.
The department indicated that it expects the three designers to maximize participation for Australian industry to create local jobs and boost the country’s shipbuilding capacity.
“The three shortlisted designers must demonstrate and develop an Australian supply chain to support Australia’s future shipbuilding industry, and also [show] how they will leverage their local suppliers into global supply chains,” Minister of Defence Industry Christopher Pyne said in the RFT announcement.
Glynn Phillips, chief executive of BAE Systems Australia, said in statement that his company will draw on “a history of more than 60 years of supporting the Australian Defence Force.” BAE also noted that it is already developing the Type 26 ship for the British navy.
The Future Frigate is part of a broader effort to update Australia’s maritime capabilities. The navy is also acquiring new air warfare destroyers, offshore patrol vessels and submarines.