Ref. the discussion about the Type 26, there is this in The Australian today.................
Part of a story in today’s Australian newspaper.
Defence procurement and co-op*eration will be discussed in Sydney on Monday during talks between Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, new Defence Minister Kevin Andrews, Britain’s Secret*ary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Philip Hammond and Secretary of State for Defence Michael Fallon.
The Abbott government has considered bringing forward the planned construction of eight frigates to bridge the work shortfall faced by the local shipbuilding industry once the navy’s new air warfare *destroyers and giant landing ships are completed.
It has examined building the frigates on the same hull as the *destroyers to ensure yards in Melbourne and Adelaide can build them. The British frigate would provide another option.
The choice of frigate and where it is built will prove crucial if the government opts to have new submarines built overseas, possibly in Japan.
Mr Fallon told The Weekend Australian the possibility of Britain and Australia co-operating on shipbuilding would be discussed at the Australia-United Kingdom Ministerial Consultations (AUKMIN) talks on Monday.
“We are both looking to replace our frigate fleets and we both have the challenge of sustaining our own shipbuilding industry. I think there is plenty of scope to a partnership approach to that,” Mr Fallon said. “There’s plenty to discuss.”
Design work on the Type 26 frigate had been completed and Mr Fallon said Britain had to make important decisions in the next couple of months, including how many of the warships should be built.
Mr Fallon said both nations faced the challenge of sustaining their shipbuilding industries. “I see the key to that as more partnership working between our respective yards and I don’t want to go further than that.”
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