The Royal Australian Navy’s Anzac-class frigates will continue to be maintained and enhanced by BAE Systems in a new A$163m deal.
Under the terms of the newly agreed Anzac Class Designer Support Contract (DSC), BAE Systems Australia – Maritime will work with maritime designers and consultants BMT to sustain and upgrade the RAN’s fleet of eight frigates.
BMT last year acquired Australian Maritime Technologies, AMT, which in its former incarnation of Blohm + Voss Australia, was the in-country designer of the Anzac-class frigates.
The BAE Systems-BMT partnership, dubbed DSC-West, will be centered on the Henderson shipyard in Perth, Western Australia, but will also take in facilities in Melbourne, Sydney and other locations across the country.
Managing Director, Surface Ships at BAE Systems Australia – Maritime David Shepherd commented: “As the company that constructed the Anzac fleet, and successfully helped deliver two major upgrade programmes across the class, we’re proud to combine our experience with the expanded capabilities of BMT to deliver safe, efficient and reliable outcomes for the Commonwealth.”
And Managing Director at BMT Graeme Nayler added: “We bring together decades of Anzac class knowledge, ensuring we can continue delivering operational excellence for the Anzac-class fleet.”
He added: “The contract award leverages these teams’ deep platform knowledge, direct design authority access, and robust sovereign capability to deliver assured availability and future ready upgrades for the Anzac class.”
BAE Systems Australia continues to work alongside the Commonwealth of Australia, Saab Australia and Babcock Australasia, as part of the Warship Asset Management Agreement (WAMA).
Under WAMA it helped design and build the ten Anzac-class frigates (including two for the Royal New Zealand Navy) between 1989 and 2006.
The eight RAN frigates have had radar and system upgrades under the Anti-Ship Missile Defence (ASMD) programme which ran from 2010-2017 and the Anzac Midlife Capability Assurance Program (AMCAP). AMCAP was concluded early this year with completion of the upgrades to HMAS Parramatta.
- You can read more details on the BAE Systems website