SA govt forges new AUKUS alliance
The state government is partnering with a US-based defence company in a bid to strengthen the workforce available for the AUKUS program.
A newly penned memorandum of understanding (MoU) between South Australia and the Australian arm of a US-based Navy contractor would strengthen the workforce required for the AUKUS nuclear submarine program, the state government has said.
Signed at the Indo Pacific Maritime Exposition in Sydney last week, the MoU between the Australian affiliate of BlueForge Alliance (BFA) would see the company establish and maintain a presence in South Australia.
Signed by Assistant Minister for AI, Digital Economy, Defence and Space Industries Michael Brown, the MoU would also encourage BlueForge Alliance Australia (BFAA) to collaborate with the government, academia and industry.
BFAA would also transfer knowledge from the United States entity relating to agreed elements of the AUKUS enterprise.
Under the AUKUS agreement – a trilateral security partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States – Australia would acquire the capability to build conventionally-armed nuclear-powered submarines.
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The state government said the MoU signalled the intention of both parties to support the SSN-AUKUS program.
BFAA was only recently established and would be headed by local CEO-designate Sam Guthrie.
Assistant Minister Brown said the partnership was “another important step towards developing a highly skilled sovereign workforce and supporting a capable, innovative industry that can meet the demands of this transformative national endeavour”.
“BFAA will draw on the experience of its US counterpart and industry partners to deliver initiatives locally, at speed, while being transferable and scalable,” said Brown.
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“This MoU adds to the significant body of work already underway by the South Australian Government in partnership with the Commonwealth, industry and academia to ensure we deliver for Defence.”
BFAA said it was “honoured to establish this important partnership”.
“BFAA, as a not-for-profit with an Australian-led team, is a strategic enabler for AUKUS, designed to partner across industry, government, and academia to uplift Australia’s sovereign submarine and maritime industrial base,” the company said in a joint statement with the state government.
“This MoU with South Australia will support the state’s AUKUS preparations across a range of critical aspects, including workforce development, supply chain resilience, and raising public awareness.
“Through this partnership, BFAA will bring knowledge and experience to help South Australia deliver on this critical national endeavour.”
The announcement followed other partnerships in the defence space, including a strategic contract between SA’s PMB Defence and BAE Systems for locally made batteries to be integrated into the AUKUS designs.
Defence technology manufacturer BAE Systems last week signed a five-year Framework Agreement with NSW-based BlueScope Group’s Port Kembla Steelworks.
The agreement would see approximately 5,000 tonnes of Australian-made steel be delivered to the Osborne Naval Shipyard for the construction of anti-submarine warfare frigates.
