Digital artwork of the Hunter-class frigate. Source: BAE
Fix frigate issues or risk missing the boat
Call for new authority to oversee $45bn shipbuilding project
FORMER state defence minister Martin Hamilton- Smith says concerns about the reliability and performance of the Future Frigates being built by BAE Systems are “very worrisome’’ and there is a chance South Australia could “lose the lot’’ if problems are not ironed out.
The Australian reported on Tuesday that an internal defence department report has warned the $45bn Hunter-class frigates will be “substantially’’ slower, have a shorter range than originally intended and could be vulnerable to detection by enemy vessels.
The report also warned local defence companies risk being passed over for contracts with BAE.
Mr Hamilton-Smith, who now heads up the Australian Sovereign Capability Alliance, said local defence industry suppliers were worried they were not being adequately involved in the frigates project. That mirrors concerns which were raised about the Naval Group Future Submarines contract, which the federal government threw out last year.
Mr Hamilton-Smith said if the BAE contract went the way of the Naval Group contract there was a risk SA could lose the decades-long build process to overseas suppliers, with rumours swirling that an overseas build is an option for the new AUKUS submarine project.
Mr Hamilton-Smith reiterated calls for a national shipbuilding authority led by someone with experience delivering multi-billion dollar projects.
“You really need a shipbuilding authority with a supremo, some sort of senior business person, a CEO, a corporate person with a board full of really high-quality people from the business community to grab all of these shipbuilding tasks and start smashing heads together,’’ he said.
“If we keep leaving it to the defence department we’ll keep getting the results we’ve always got, which is frankly very troubled.’’ The report warns the inclusion of a US combat system and Australian-designed radar have pushed the ships’ “space, weight, power and cooling margins” to their limits, posing “significant potential risk”.
It warns the changes have caused serious design issues, driving up power consumption with “a negative impact on speed and range”.
Chief of Navy Mike Noonan said he was “absolutely confident” the Hunter-class frigates would be “a worldleading warship’’.
BAE said it had not seen the report and that identifying risks was a normal part of the design process.
“All large projects go through an engineering phase to identify and mitigate potential issues, and we’re working to deliver the best outcome for our customer,” it said.
“The Hunter-class frigate program is making strong progress towards the delivery of a superior anti-submarine warfare capability.’’
The Australian reported on Tuesday that an internal defence department report has warned the $45bn Hunter-class frigates will be “substantially’’ slower, have a shorter range than originally intended and could be vulnerable to detection by enemy vessels.
The report also warned local defence companies risk being passed over for contracts with BAE.
Mr Hamilton-Smith, who now heads up the Australian Sovereign Capability Alliance, said local defence industry suppliers were worried they were not being adequately involved in the frigates project. That mirrors concerns which were raised about the Naval Group Future Submarines contract, which the federal government threw out last year.
Mr Hamilton-Smith said if the BAE contract went the way of the Naval Group contract there was a risk SA could lose the decades-long build process to overseas suppliers, with rumours swirling that an overseas build is an option for the new AUKUS submarine project.
Mr Hamilton-Smith reiterated calls for a national shipbuilding authority led by someone with experience delivering multi-billion dollar projects.
“You really need a shipbuilding authority with a supremo, some sort of senior business person, a CEO, a corporate person with a board full of really high-quality people from the business community to grab all of these shipbuilding tasks and start smashing heads together,’’ he said.
“If we keep leaving it to the defence department we’ll keep getting the results we’ve always got, which is frankly very troubled.’’ The report warns the inclusion of a US combat system and Australian-designed radar have pushed the ships’ “space, weight, power and cooling margins” to their limits, posing “significant potential risk”.
It warns the changes have caused serious design issues, driving up power consumption with “a negative impact on speed and range”.
Chief of Navy Mike Noonan said he was “absolutely confident” the Hunter-class frigates would be “a worldleading warship’’.
BAE said it had not seen the report and that identifying risks was a normal part of the design process.
“All large projects go through an engineering phase to identify and mitigate potential issues, and we’re working to deliver the best outcome for our customer,” it said.
“The Hunter-class frigate program is making strong progress towards the delivery of a superior anti-submarine warfare capability.’’