Australia taps Japan, France Germany to compete for submarine project

SYDNEY. KAZINFORM - Australia said Friday that it will invite Japan, France and Germany to participate in a competitive evaluation process to assess their suitability to help Sydney design and build submarines for its navy.

The three countries will be invited to take part in the process "that will assess their ability to partner with Australia to develop a Future Submarine that meets our capability requirements," Defense Minister Kevin Andrews said in a statement. "All three of these countries have proven submarine design and build capabilities and they are currently producing submarines," he later told reporters, adding that he hopes to visit each of them to see their shipbuilding activities. The new submarines are to replace the navy's current fleet of six Collins Class submarines, which are scheduled to retire from service in the mid-2020s. Calling it the "largest defense procurement program in Australia's history," he said it "represents an investment of some A$50 billion (US$40 billion) in Australia's security." Andrews said the 10-month evaluation process will ensure "that capability, cost, schedule and key strategic considerations, along with Australian industry involvement, are carefully and methodically considered, and avoid unnecessary delays to the Future Submarine Program." Regarding the issue of local industry participation, Andrews acknowledged there has been "some anxiety over past times" about this and assured "there is now a pathway for Australian industry to maximize their involvement in the future submarine program." He said the government expects that "significant work" will be undertaken in Australia, including on "combat system integration, design assurance and land based testing." "This will result in the creation of at least 500 new high-skill jobs in Australia for the life of the program, the majority of which will be in South Australia," he said. Source: Kyodo