Monday 23rd of December 2024
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Adelaide Wins Warship Contract

In what he described as a "monumental day in the State's history" , South Australian Premier Mike Rann has just announced that Adelaide's Australian Submarine Coporation has won the contract to build the three "Son of Star Wars" Air warfare destroyers.

Premier Rann said that when the news reached his office "we all shook hands and said 'mission accomplished'."

Mr Rann added that the contract had been signifigant in enticing "a whole lot" of defence-related companies to Adelaide's northern suburbs.

Companies involved in the contract include BAE, Lockheed-Martin, Raytheon and Halliburton/KBR.

Mr Rann also said that on the strength of the win South Australia would be bidding for the Australian arm of the Global Hawk project. The Unmanned Air Vehicle's first trans-Atlantic flight was from Edwards Air Base in the U.S. to the Edinburgh Air Base in Adelaide.

Defence Minister and Senator for South Australia Robert Hill qualified the announcement by adding that much of the construction work would be carried out in shipyards across Australia.

Mr Hill said that "...up to 70% of the module construction will be subcontracted to other shipyards around Australia, creating around 1000 additional jobs throughout the country."

"It's a very large project, very technically challenging."

South Australian Opposition Leader Mr Rob Kerrin said that the deal would "cement South Australia's defence industry for decades to come", while Australian Workers Union representative Wayne Hanson. said "We've won a generation of work for South Australian workers and their families."
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Senator Hill said that the Federal Government would provide $455 million to fund the second phase project activites such as design work, infrastructure and facilities construction until mid-2007. Local ship construction recruitment is expected to occur at that time.,

He said it would further reduce the risks of the project in
accord with recommendations of the Defence Procurement (Kinnaird)
Review

Sources: ABC-891 Adelaide, Sydney Morning Herald, Australian Financial Review, Reuters

 

 

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'monumental'

A 'monumental day' for SA maybe Richard, but not for the Australian taxpayer.

Georgie porgie gave approval to deploy 'son of star wars', notwithstanding that all the preliminary interception tests have failed (even when the co-ordinates were pre-punched into the intercept vehicles) & his own advisors recommended against it!!

When Robert Hill was challenged for dishonestly talking-up the feasibility of the program & the importance of Australia's participation, he went into hiding.

Australia is building destroyers that are designed to operate as an integral part of the new US 'son of star wars' defence system but, as is the case with most of our major defence procurement initiatives, we'll wind-up paying the crooks in the military-industrial complex & the Pentagon billions for something that doesn't work or isn't fit for purpose, like the Collins submarines, the 2nd hand Abrams or the Seaking helicopters.

Conned again by our 'strongest' ally & their lackeys in Canberra.

Cheers

Richard: Yep, and all done by the book, or in this case according to the prescribed procedures of the 2000 Defence White Paper (Kinnaird Report) and implemented by the Defence Procurement Board, of which the aforementioned Halliburton Australia trail-blazer is a member.... sigh..

U.S. Firm WIns Australian Warship Contract

U.S. Battleship constructors Gibbs and Cox were today announced in Federal Parliament as the constructors of the Air Warfare Destroyers to be built in Adelaide.

The AWD's Aegis missile system will be Australia's contribution to the U.S. Missile Sheild.

Defence Minister Robert Hill  said  the new warships, which will also have anti-submarine and
anti-surface warfare capabilities, will be interoperable with US and
British forces, which are currently deployed alongside Australian
troops in Iraq.

In announcing Australia's purchase of M-1 Abrams tanks that will be carried on Australia's new amphibious ships, Minister Hill's media release stated "yhey will be configured as part of a fleet of 3,500 similar vehicles
across the world. These particular vehicles will be very similar to
over 2,500 vehicles operated by the US to at least 2020.

Gibbs and Cox are also the Taiwanese Government's preferred constructors for Aegis-launching destroyers

According to a U.S-based Pro-Taiwan website, the
Aegis' long range radar would "give Taiwan early warning for optimal
deployments of its forces. The destroyers are equipped with missiles, guns
and torpedoes. Its radar system can track and defend against over 100
targets simultaneously. The ship's state-of-the-art command and control
capabilities would give Taiwan's military the much needed ability to
coordinate the operation of all its forces. If combined with newer
submarines and anti-sub aircraft, the Aegis destroyers could help deter a
blitzkrieg by air and sea or a naval blockade by China."

In 2001 Wendel Minnick wrote in the Taipei Times that "Taiwan's dreams of buying an AEGIS-equipped Arleigh Burke might have to
be permanently shelved. The US has never sold an Arleigh Burke to any
nation and the ships are extremely expensive. The US has sold the AEGIS
Combat System to Japan, Spain and Norway, which de-signed platforms to
accommodate AEGIS. If Taiwan wants the AEGIS, it will have to design a
platform that can house it, and then convince the US to sell the system".

After China threatened to initiate an arms race if a Gibbs and Cox/Aegis system was sold to Taiwan, U.S. President George W. Bush deferred  decision on such a proposal

Orders for additional AEGIS-equipped ships by the US Navy are scheduled
to end around late 2006 or early 2007, with the final Arleigh-Burke
being delivered in 2011

Mr Hill, also a Senator for South Australia, said the Adelaide-built vessels are scheduled to enter service "from 2013" 

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