Page 161 - Australian Defence Magazine October 2019

approach to growing and sustaining the required workforce and key initiatives like the new Naval Shipbuilding College will be central to this effort.
ADM: Is Navy’s workforce and training environment fit for purpose given these kinds of challenges and opportunities? QUINN: We’re going to be investing prettyheavilyinourtrainingsystemsand in particular the training systems that we’re going to require for the Hunter, Ara- fura and Attack classes.
We have a new approach now that we’re using; we call it a Ship Zero Approach (see P36 for more on this) where we’re looking at effectively building that integrated set of systems that we need to train our people in a much more complex integrated plat- form and we’re also looking for where we can get cross platform synergies as well.
For example, in WA when we build our Ship Zero facilities there, we’ll be building facilities which will support the Hunter, the Arafura and our new Supply class tankers. These will be big invest-
ments; we’re investing over
$1.5 billion in facilities for
the Hunter Class and we’ll
be investing a similar amount
or more for the Attack Class,
probably more. So lots of big investments in that sort of infrastructure that we need,
the through-life support
facilities, the through-life development facilities, the Ship Zero training facilities, advanced simulation capabilities, all of those things that we will need to train the people for the new capabilities and keep our workforce up to date as those platforms evolve.
In most cases, we’re not waiting to do the training just for those new capabilities. As we evolve the Anzacs, as we do the life of type extension to the Collins with new technologies, we’re looking at implement- ing those advanced training and support facilities for those capabilities as well.
We will refine our new approach to training, to simulation and we’ll use those upgrades to mature our approach to make
sure we’re really hitting our straps as the new boats and ships come into service.
ADM: What Navy capabilities are on the cards in the next three to five years that we haven’t discussed?
QUINN: There’s a number. A more re- cent one is the announcement by the Prime Minister earlier in the year with respect to building mine warfare support vessels. Under the Sea 1905 project we’ll be taking a different approach to attack- ing the mine warfare problem. The mine warfare threat is evolving quite signifi- cantly, so our intent is that by mid next decade we will also have evolved to using
www.australiandefence.com.au | October 2019 | 161
“Under Sea 1905 project
we’ll be taking a different approach to attacking the mine warfare problem.”