Space Travel News  
FLOATING STEEL
Britain makes pitch for massive Australia warship contract: report
by Staff Writers
Sydney (AFP) July 26, 2017


Britain's defence secretary Wednesday made a strong push to build Australia's next fleet of warships, saying the frigates he proposes are best placed to hunt "Russian and Chinese submarines" amid regional tensions.

Australia earlier this year detailed a massive Aus$89 billion (US$70.4 billion) shipbuilding strategy, including constructing new submarines and frigates, in the nation's largest peacetime naval investment.

The big increase in defence spending comes as Beijing flexes its muscle in the region through a military build-up in the contested South China Sea, and as tensions remain high on the Korean peninsula.

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon made the pitch to build the nine frigates as part of a Aus$35 billion project ahead of annual Australia-Britain defence and foreign minister talks in Sydney this week.

Three designers are vying for the massive contract -- Britain's BAE Systems, Italy's Fincantieri and Spain's Navantia -- which is described by Canberra as currently the world's largest frigate shipbuilding programme of its kind.

"You need in a region that is now as unstable and tense as it is, as you've decided, some anti-submarine hunting capability and the very latest capability," Fallon told The Sydney Morning Herald.

He said the Type 26 Frigate -- a class currently being constructed for the British navy -- would be better than their Italian and Spanish rivals in hunting "Russian and Chinese submarines" in waters around Australia and the Pacific.

"The quietness of the ship, and the sophistication of the technology on it, puts it way ahead of any European offer you might be considering," said Fallon.

A key element of the contract is that there must be a high-level of local construction, in a bid by Canberra to boost domestic jobs in the shipbuilding industry.

Fallon said the use of local manufacturing was "perfectly reasonable", and added that Britain would be open to buying Australian-made military equipment.

The programme will replace Australia's current ANZAC class frigates with the winning designer due to be announced next year and the first warship expected in service by the late 2020s.

French naval contractor DCNS was last year selected to design and build 12 new Australian submarines at a cost of Aus$50 billion at an Adelaide yard, beating off competition from Japan and Germany.

grk/mp/ds

Fincantieri

BAE SYSTEMS

FLOATING STEEL
Hydroid receives Mk 18 Kingfish countermine UUV Navy contract
Washington (UPI) Jul 21, 2017
Hydroid Inc. has been awarded a $27.3 million contract modification for engineering and technical services for product improvements to the Mk18 series of unmanned underwater vehicles, the Department of Defense announced on Thursday. The modification provides for the development, testing, and eventual installation of the upgrade to the Mk 18. The work will be conducted in Pocasset, Mass. ... read more

Related Links
Naval Warfare in the 21st Century


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

FLOATING STEEL
FLOATING STEEL
For Moratorium on Sending Commands to Mars, Blame the Sun

Tributes to wetter times on Mars

Opportunity will spend three weeks at current location due to Solar Conjunction

Curiosity Mars Rover Begins Study of Ridge Destination

FLOATING STEEL
Living in Deep Space: Lockheed Martin to Build Full-Scale Prototype of NASA Cislunar Habitat

How to rescue a Moonwalker in need

Japanese Space Agency Proposes Plan to Send Astronauts to Moon

Japan reveals plans to put a man on moon by 2030

FLOATING STEEL
New Horizons Video Soars over Pluto's Majestic Mountains and Icy Plains

Juno spots Jupiter's Great Red Spot

New evidence in support of the Planet Nine hypothesis

NASA's New Horizons Team Strikes Gold in Argentina

FLOATING STEEL
A New Search for Extrasolar Planets from the Arecibo Observatory

Gulf of Mexico tube worm is one of the longest-living animals in the world

Molecular Outflow Launched Beyond Disk Around Young Star

Eyes Wide Open for MASCARA Exoplanet Hunter

FLOATING STEEL
ISRO Develops Ship-Based Antenna System to Track Satellite Launches

Elon Musk says successful maiden flight for Falcon Heavy unlikely

Russia to Supply Largest Ever Number of Space Rocket Engines to US This Year

Aerojet Rocketdyne tests Advanced Electric Propulsion System

FLOATING STEEL
China develops sea launches to boost space commerce

Chinese satellite Zhongxing-9A enters preset orbit

Chinese Space Program: From Setback, to Manned Flights, to the Moon

Chinese Rocket Fizzles Out, Puts Other Launches on Hold

FLOATING STEEL
Ancient, massive asteroid impact could explain Martian geological mysteries

Pitted Materials in Craters Could Indicate Buried Ice on Asteroids

Bizarro comet challenging researchers

NASA'S First Asteroid Deflection Mission Enters Next Design Phase









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.