The design search for a fleet of general purpose defence frigates to be largely built at Henderson has been narrowed down to two, with the federal government revealing its shortlist.
The design search for a fleet of general purpose defence frigates to be largely built at Henderson has been narrowed down to two, with the federal government revealing its shortlist.
German engineering firm Thyssenkrupp Marine Services and Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries will progress their frigate designs in consultation with the Department of Defence.
Mitsubishi’s Mogami-class frigate and Thyssenkrupp’s MEKO A-200-class design are each in the running from an initial field of five.
The initial field included shipbuilders from Germany, Japan, South Korea and Spain, with the shortlist decided based on Australia’s specific capability needs.
Alongside six Hunter-class frigates being built at Osborne in South Australia, the fleet of 11 new frigates will replace the ageing Anzac-class vessels in the current Australian Navy fleet.
The government hopes to build eight of the 11 at Henderson but maintains that work will be subject to the precinct’s timely consolidation.
The first three will be built abroad.
No timeline was provided for a final decision on the design of the frigates but the government plans to have the first delivered before the end of the decade.
“This program is moving at pace to ensure the Navy is equipped with the ships it needs to keep Australians safe,” Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy said.
“The rapid, accelerated work of the general-purpose frigate program to date underpins the next stages of the acquisition to ensure this capability is delivered this decade, providing our Navy with enhanced anti-submarine and anti-air warfare capabilities.”
The frigate shortlist follows October’s announcement of a plan to consolidate Henderson into a strategic defence hub at a cost in the order of billions.
The consolidated Henderson is expected to create 10,000 jobs over the coming two decades.
That comes off the back of a plan announced late in 2023 to significantly grow the nation’s Navy, creating a future fleet which will include the largest number of surface combatants since the second World War.
Defence signed a heads of agreement with Austal in November last year, anointing it the nation’s strategic shipbuilder of choice on the west coast.
That set a path for the pair to negotiate a firm strategic shipbuilding agreement, which is yet to be formally announced.
Austal was subsequently subject to takeover interest from South Korea’s Hanwha Ocean, which ultimately walked away from its $1 billion pursuit of the shipbuilder in September.
Austal was active on the market today, welcoming news over the weekend that the federal government had selected a design by Dutch shipbuilder Damen Shipyards Group as its preference for an Australian Defence Force fleet of eight medium landing craft to be built at Henderson - subject to the agreement's finalisation.
“Austal looks forward to constructing this important new capability for Australia, following the anticipated finalisation of the strategic shipbuilding agreement and commencement of the landing craft medium contract in 2025," Austal chief executive Paddy Gregg said.
Austal hopes to begin construction on that job in 2026.
