Page 20 - Australian Defence Mag March 2020

20 DEFENCE BUSINESS ADM CONGRESS
MARCH 2020 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
FROM TOP: Chief of Navy VADM Michael Noonan; Thales Australia CEO Chris Jenkins
Mike Ellis of McKinsey & Co
BOTH DEFENCE AND THE NAVAL SHIPBUILDING COLLEGE ARE LOOKING FOR WAYS TO REACH INTO SCHOOL SYSTEMS AT APPROPRIATE LEVELS TO MAKE STUDENTS AWARE OF THE OPPORTUNITIES IN OUR COMMUNITY.
VADM Noonan also noted that Navy is in a period of tran- sition from current capabilities to the ships and submarines being delivered by the continuous naval shipbuilding strat- egy. He said the transition period will stretch to 2080, when the last Attack submarine is retired.
“I have a Navy that is in transition and probably will be for the conceivable memory of those of us here today,” he told delegates.
Deputy Secretary of Capability Acquisition and Sustain- ment Group (CASG) Tony Fraser, also began his presenta- tion with an overview of Op Bushfire Assist, saying that most problems solved at low or intermediate levels, dem- onstrating a maturity of the organisation. “Very few things had to be escalated up to our level,” he said.
Fraser then shifted gears, telling Australian industry delegates that they were now in a “sweet spot” for export potential with the current exchange rates and said that the newly created position of Head of the AIC office will also be assigned responsibility for the ‘Smart Buyer’ process and smart buyer team, as well as the Independent Assur- ance team.
“That way we’ll drive in AIC at the highest level early in the acquisition strategies. It’s clearly a Government priority (and) it’s our priority. And it’s in our best interests to con- tinue to do that,” he said.
INDUSTRY VIEWPOINTS
Gary Stewart, MD of Rheinmetall Defence Australia, told the Congress that when the ADF makes a capability deci- sion, the rest of the world pays attention.
With hindsight, the 2016 Defence Industry Policy State- ment was perfectly timed to allow Australian industry to participate directly in the growth of the European defence market over the next decade.
“Quite simply, right now there is more demand than avail- able supply in Europe. So while Europe is rebuilding its indus- trial base over the next 5-10 years, Australian industry can par- ticipate in the near term to supplement capacity needed now.
“And by embedding our local industrial network now, we can carve out a strong manufacturing foundation for the next decades of demand from Europe and beyond.”
At the same time, Australia could provide a unique propo- sition for regional stability at a time when strategic challeng- es abound, Stewart added.
Thales CEO Chris Jenkins said the company had in- creased its defence output by 25 per cent since 2009 – along with a 25 per cent reduction in workforce. Today, 60 per cent of Thales’ total industrial effort in Australia was with other com-