Yearly Archives: 2023

South Australia’s Axiom Precision Manufacturing has announced a new contract with Kongsberg Defence Australia for the manufacture and delivery of ground support equipment for the Naval Strike Missile (NSM) being developed under SEA 1300 Phase 1. Announced last year, the NSM is set to replace the Harpoon Anti-ship Missile capability on the Royal Australian Navy’s ANZAC class frigates and Hobart class destroyers. The manufacturing of the complex assemblies required for the missiles has begun at Axiom’s purpose-built, secure facilities in Wingfield, with the first deliveries are due early 2024. General Manager of Kongsberg Defence Australia, John Fry, explained the organisation’s ...

The Commonwealth Government will provide more than 1000 additional STEM-focused university places in SA from next year, to support South Australia’s endeavours in building nuclear-powered, conventionally armed submarines. The Commonwealth’s commitment will see South Australia receive more than a quarter of the 4001 new additional STEM places announced nationwide. The 1030 new places in SA represents an increase of 230 on the commitment first secured by the South Australian Government in a Cooperation Agreement with the Commonwealth in the wake of the AUKUS pact announcement in March. The decision will see 700 of the STEM places be delivered by the ...

Building on our proud legacy as Australia’s Defence State, the State Government has partnered with the Commonwealth Government to help the defence industry shore up the necessary pipeline of highly skilled workers required to fulfil current and horizon projects – funding workforce initiatives that help attract, upskill and retain workers.   The South Australian Defence Industry Workforce and Skills Report details targeted initiatives that accelerate the work already underway to grow the South Australian defence industry workforce. Building a capability pipeline across education, training and employment, the initiatives are designed to grow a skilled and inclusive workforce; from school, VET and ...

The 2023 Indo Pacific International Maritime Exposition, held in Sydney from 7-9 November, proved momentum is strong for Australia’s naval shipbuilding industry with multiple event records broken.   More than 27,000 delegates were in attendance across the three day event – up from 25,000 in 2022 – and the exhibition floor space was 13% larger than the previous record with 832 participating exhibitors from 21 nations. The record-breaking streak continued for South Australia with more than 80 local organisations participating on the South Australia – The Defence State stand, which was the largest delegation of any state or territory at ...

The Arafura class offshore patrol vessel (OPV) NUSHIP Eyre has been launched at South Australia’s world-class Osborne Naval Shipyard. Named for the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia, NUSHIP Eyre is the second in a fleet of 12 OPVs being built by Luerssen Australia for the Royal Australian Navy. It is the last of its class to be constructed in South Australia and follows the launch of NUSHIP Arafura in December 2021. South Australian Deputy Premier and Minister for Defence and Space Industries, Susan Close, said the vessel’s launch represented an important milestone in the state’s continuous naval shipbuilding program. “The ...