Australian Minister for Defence, I am pleased to announce that Requests for Tender for the $2 billion large amphibious ships project have been released today. The two ships, to be named HMAS Canberra and Adelaide, are scheduled to enter service with the Royal Australian Navy from 2012.
This is a major milestone in the process that will lead to final project approval and ship builder and design selection early next year. It comes after an intensive design development effort by Defence and the two competing designers, in which the designs have been adapted to meet specific Australian legislative and regulatory requirements.
Two Australian companies – ADI and Tenix – will team with the designers to compete for the contract to supply the ships. ADI will team with the French designer Armaris, and Tenix with the Spanish designer Navantia.
The Tenix-Navantia team will propose a variation of the Navantia 27,000 tonne design, while ADI-Armaris will propose a variation of the Armaris 22,000-tonne Mistral class.
Both prospective designs offer a quantum leap over our current capability and satisfy Government's strategic guidance. Selection of the preferred consortium to construct the ships will be determined on value for money grounds.
The tender documentation will allow bidding companies to:
— Submit fixed price bids;
— Bid through life support solutions, and;
— Provide innovative solutions to improve price and schedule.
Australian industry stands to benefit considerably from this project of national significance.
Each ship will have the ability to transport up to 1000 personnel, have six helicopter landing spots and a provision for a mix of troop lift and armed reconnaissance helicopters. It will also be able to transport up to 150 vehicles including the new M1A1 Abrams tank and other elements of the Hardened and Networked Army.
Each ship will also be equipped with medical facilities, including two operating theatres and a hospital ward.
The project will allow the Australian Defence Force to perform a range of tasks, including regional disaster relief, delivering humanitarian aid, support for peace operations, and assistance to policing or military operations.
This investment part of the Howard Government's commitment of $28.5 billion in increased spending on Defence capability over the 10-year period to 2010, building on the 2000 White Paper commitment to increase Defence funding by three per cent annually, in real terms, until 2010/11.
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