Lockheed Martin selected as combat system integrator for Australia's future submarines
Xinhua, September 29, 2016 Adjust font size:
Lockheed Martin Australia has been selected as the preferred Combat System Integrator for Australia's Future Submarine Program, Australian Minister for Defence Marise Payne and Minister for Defence Industry Christopher Pyne announced on Thursday in a joint media release.
"Lockheed Martin Australia will be our Combat System Integrator to partner with Defence and DCNS (of France) to design and integrate the combat system of our Future Submarine, which meets our unique capability requirements," Payne said.
She called it an important step in developing Australia's regionally superior future submarines.
"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."
Pyne 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," Pyne said.
"The 200 full time combat system integration jobs form part of around 2,800 jobs associated with the broader Future Submarine Program."
He said a team of Australian companies will integrate the Future Submarine Combat system in a dedicated facility in Adelaide.
"This will see investment in engineering, project management and other high-technology industries in Australia," he said.
Pyne said Lockheed Martin Australia will draw upon expertise from Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Training, and General Dynamics - Electric Boat, both of which are based in the United States.
"Australian industry will be directly involved in the highly technical work of designing and integrating the combat system for the Future Submarine, further developing our own capability in this specialised area," Pyne said. Endit