Global Combat Ship variant selected for Australia's Project SEA 5000 frigate programme

摘要

BAE Systems, proposing a Global Combat Ship variant derived from the Royal Navy's Type 26 frigate design, has been selected as preferred tenderer for Australia's Project SEA 5000 Future Frigate programme.Representing an investment in the order of A$35 billion (US$25.4 billion), SEA 5000 provides for the delivery of nine new anti-submarine warfare (ASW) optimised surface combatants from the late 2020s to replace the Royal Australian Navy's eight Anzac class frigates.The ships will be built by ASC Shipbuilding at the Osborne Naval Shipyard in South Australia. Currently wholly owned by the Commonwealth, ASC Shipbuilding will become a subsidiary of BAE Systems for the duration of the build programme.The programme is expected to create and sustain at least 4,000 highly skilled jobs, providing a significant contribution to the development of Australia's continuous naval shipbuilding capability and a boost to the nation's manufacturing industry.