Aussie warship project to be delayed for two years by local companies
The Future Frigates project will see nine new anti-submarine warfare frigates designed and built to replace Australia's existing Anzac frigate fleet.
The Australian bid to build the ships is being led by South Australia's ASC and Western Australia's Austal but Spain's Navantina, Britain's BAE Systems and Italy's Fincantieri have also been shortlisted for the project.
Despite an initial promise that the ships would be built in Australia, the Defence Department has convinced the government that the Australian-built clause should be "optional" rather than "mandated."
Christopher Pyne, Australia's defence industry minister, said: "Advice from the Department of Defence is that changing the request for tender to mandate a particular shipbuilder would result in a delay of at least two years in the Future Frigates program."
"The government is committed to creating an indigenous naval shipbuilding industry in Australia which will involve a significant increase of employees in the shipbuilding industry, focused on South Australia," Pyne said in a statement on Friday. ■