Page 10 - Australian Defence Magazine - July 2018

WIKIMEDIA
AUSTAL
NEWS REVIEW
INDUSTRY UPDATE
Austal launches first patrol boat in WA
THE first of Austal's 21 Guardian Class Pa- cific Patrol Boats (PPB-R) has been launched just two years after the contract was awarded, in line with the project schedule and budget.
The vessel is the first launched under the government’s $90 billion continuous shipbuilding program, and is scheduled for delivery to Papua New Guinea in late October. The boats will be used to conduct maritime surveillance and enforcement op-
erations, such as combating illegal fishing. “Austal is proud to be delivering the PPB- R program for the Commonwealth. This is the first steel ship program we have man- aged and we are doing so on time and on budget” Austal CEO David Singleton said. “It is a testament to the skills, experience and management of the Austal PPB-R team that the first vessel has met its project mile-
stones for design and build, on schedule.
"The overall construction program is well underway with vessels two and three in build and the fourth vessel commenc- ing construction in June. This program will support 200 direct jobs at Austal and a further 200 indirect jobs in the broader Australian industry in a program that now extends out to late 2023.
“We are already working on export op- portunities leveraging off the Pacific Patrol Boats which will assist Australia to sustain its sovereign naval shipbuilding industry. Austal has already delivered over 40 Patrol Boats to international customers around the world,” Singleton said.
The Pacific Patrol Boat contract was awarded to Austal in May 2016. The original contract is worth $305 million for the first 19 vessels and associated in-service support, with a further $29.7 million contract award- ed in April 2018 for two additional vessels.
Construction of the second and third boats is underway, with new boats sched- uled to be delivered at approximately three- month intervals from late 2018 until 2023.
The 39.5 metre steel-hulled patrol boats are being built at Austal’s dedicated pro- duction facility in the suburb of Naval Base, near Henderson and are the company’s first steel hulled boats to be built in Australia
UNSW satellite set for September launch
UNSW'S state-of-the-art CubeSat sat- ellite is going through the final testing phase before its planned launch in Sep- tember this year.
The M1 CubeSat is one of three under development by engineers and research- ers at UNSW Canberra Space, under a $10 million contract signed with RAAF in November 2017. The second and third are set for launch in 2019 in a formation known as M2.
According to Minister for Defence In- dustry Christopher Pyne, the CubeSat will gather remote sensing information with radios and cameras. The spacecraft have re- programmable software-defined radios on
The CubeSat is one of three under development at UNSW Canberra Space.
board, and can change their purpose mid- mission to enable multiple uses by Defence. The CubeSat will gather remote sensing
information with radios and cameras “Small, low-cost satellites like M1 pro- vide a unique opportunity to support Aus- tralian Defence Force capabilities and to
rejuvenate Australian space industry," Min- ister Pyne said.
“The Government is investing signifi- cantly in space-related projects for Defence over the next two decades. Over $300 mil- lion is already committed in this year’s bud- get to establish the Australian Space Agency which will drive Australia’s involvement in space, and to develop national space-related infrastructure.
“These space missions will also deliver research and educational outcomes for De- fence and civilian students studying engi- neering at UNSW Canberra, forming an important part of building our space capa- bility for the future.”
UNSW launched its first miniature satel- lite, the Buccaneer, into orbit from Vanden- berg Air Force Base in California last year.
10 | July 2018 | www.australiandefence.com.au