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| Spain's F100: Base design for the Hobart class AWD |
Julian Kerr
Australia's AUD8.5 billion (USD8.25 billion) Air Warfare Destroyer (AWD) project, the country's largest current defence programme, is in "deep, deep trouble", according to Defence Minister David Johnston.
In remarks reported in The Australian newspaper on 15 August and confirmed to IHS Jane's by the minister's office, Johnston also called the programme "a disgraceful mess".
"The AWD will be one or two years late if we are lucky and several hundred millions over budget," the minister said. "People are not wanting to be frank about how bad this project is."
The AWD project was placed on the government's Projects of Concern (PoC) list on 4 June after an independent review headed by former US Navy Secretary Don Winter. The review identified inadequate government oversight and also questioned the management abilities of the AWD Alliance, which groups government-owned shipbuilder ASC, the Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO), and systems integrator Raytheon.
Read the full story at IHS Jane's 360