by Trevor Thomas
BAE Systems Australia is ramping up its quest to have the Type 26 Global Combat Ship (GCS) design selected for the Royal Australian Navy’s Future Frigate requirements, with plans towards the end of this year to set up at its Canberra office a 3D visualisation capability to display the features of the specialist anti-submarine warfare ship.
According to David Bond, Chief Operating Officer of BAE Systems Australia, establishment of the 3D visualisation capability in Australia will be preceded in September by a series of supply chain engagements that will seek to assess Australian manufacturing and service enterprises via its Global Access Program (GAP), in order to determine potential for participation in GCS production for both the UK and Australian navies, as well as any other potential exports to countries such as Germany and Canada.
Prospects for the Type 26 program received a boost in March with the UK Ministry of Defence letting a GBP472 million contract to BAE Systems to extend the new vessel’s demonstration phase, which included securing the manufacture of long-lead items relating to the first batch (3 of 8) vessels to be built for the Royal Navy. The demonstration phase will run to June 2017, after which the Ministry is expected to be in a position to approve the Phase 1 ship build, leading to a first-of-class in-service date of 2022/23.
Bond said that bringing a Type 26 3D visualisation capability to Australia will help both Department of Defence representatives and local industry improve their understanding of the outstanding features of the ship, as well as improve the visibility of modifications needed to the baseline Type 26 design to accommodate CEA Technologies’ second-generation phased-array radar system.
Read the full story at ADBR