SINGAPORE — Australia today announced the official location for its future defense precinct, which is expected to be home to maintenance for future submarines acquired under the AUKUS agreement.
The site, located at Henderson in the state of Western Australia and seven miles across the water from the Royal Australian Navy base where its submarine fleet is based, “includes the preferred location for the Government’s naval shipbuilding and sustainment activities, and for the sustainment of Australia’s future conventionally armed nuclear-powered submarines,” according to the announcement.
“The Defence Precinct at Henderson is where critical maritime capabilities for the Australian Defence Force will be built, including Navy’s future general purpose frigates and Army’s Landing Craft,” the release said. The site will deliver “continuous naval shipbuilding and sustainment in Western Australia for generations to come.”
“The selection of the site for the Henderson Defence Precinct is a major step towards establishing a world-class sovereign shipbuilding and sustainment hub in Western Australia,” said Australian defense minister Richard Marles.
“This decision allows the next phase of planning and development of the precinct to progress at pace, so we can deliver the infrastructure needed to support continuous naval shipbuilding and sustainment in the West, and develop the capability to own, operate and sustain conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines,” he added.
According to an official outline showing the borders of the future defense precinct overlaid onto an aerial photo of the existing industrial area in Henderson, the area set aside is located immediately south of Austal’s existing shipyard and takes in areas currently occupied by BAE Systems Australia, as well as civilian boat yards.
It will be surrounded by non-defense related industrial areas, which has been labeled as “fabrication, support and other facilities.”
The release added that it is expected that the precinct will support up to 10,000 jobs over the next 20 years, and will be underpinned by “billions of dollars” worth of investments, including 12 billion Australian dollars ($8.59 million) announced last September.
The development of the precinct will now go into the conceptual design phase, with Australia’s federal government and defense department to engage with the state government, local industry and other stakeholders.
Monday also saw the keel laying ceremony for the first of Australia’s six Hunter-class frigates at BAE Systems Australia’s shipyard in Osborne, South Australia.
Based on the Type 26 frigate design, Australia’s ships will be fitted with the indigenous CEA Technologies’ CEAFAR phased array radar suite, as well as the capability to launch SM-2, SM-6 air and missile-defense missiles and Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles.
“The Hunter class will provide Navy with an advanced anti-submarine warfare capability, one of the most important capabilities for Australia’s maritime security, and strengthen our ability to operate alongside allies and partners,” said the Australian defense department in a separate news release.