The Albanese Government has marked a significant milestone in delivering Australia\u2019s future surface combatant fleet today, with the laying of the keel for the first Hunter class frigate at South Australia\u2019s Osborne Naval Shipyard. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Honouring a centuries-old naval tradition, the keel laying sees a coin placed beneath the keel of the ship to bestow good fortune on the vessel during its construction and throughout its life at sea. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Construction of the Hunter class frigates is part of the Albanese Government\u2019s commitment to continuous naval shipbuilding in South Australia and the delivery of a larger and more lethal surface combatant fleet for the Royal Australian Navy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Hunter class will provide Navy with an advanced anti-submarine warfare capability, one of the most important capabilities for Australia\u2019s maritime security, and strengthen our ability to operate alongside allies and partners. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This program, being delivered by BAE Systems Maritime Australia, is directly supporting more than 2,500 jobs, with the majority of the workforce based in South Australia. An additional 5,000 Australian industry jobs are being supported through the supply chain for the build. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Hunter class fleet will also integrate Australian\u2011made radar technology and advanced combat system elements from the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Construction of 20 of the first ship\u2019s 22 blocks is already underway, which will see the Royal Australian Navy receive the first Hunter class frigate in the early 2030s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Deputy Prime Minister, Richard Marles:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cToday\u2019s milestone is a vital step forward for the Australian workers building these ships, the men and women who will serve on them, and our nation\u2019s future maritime security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe laying of the keel for the first Hunter class frigate demonstrates tangible progress in the delivery of a more capable, lethal and resilient surface combatant fleet for Australia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe Hunter class frigates will provide a world-class anti-submarine warfare capability, designed to operate in complex maritime environments.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Minister for Defence Industry, Pat Conroy:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis Hunter class frigate program is already supporting thousands of high-skilled and well-paid jobs. So, this is a landmark moment that demonstrates Australia already has the skilled workforce needed to undertake complex projects like this. \u201cThrough the construction of the Hunter frigates, we are strengthening South Australia\u2019s role as a national centre for complex naval shipbuilding and supporting skilled Australian jobs across the broader national supply chain.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Premier of South Australia, Peter Malinauskas:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis is a momentous day for South Australian shipbuilding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMore than 2,500 highly skilled men and women are now working at Osborne building the Hunter Frigates, a massive undertaking that represents the start of continuous naval shipbuilding here in Adelaide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBAE have almost 600 tradespeople now working on this project — some of them young people trained up at our remarkable Technical Colleges, and now locked into well paid, interesting lifelong careers. And there\u2019s still AUKUS to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRecruiting the workforce for these tasks represents a massive challenge. But it is also a massive opportunity for our state, and we are working hand in hand with the Albanese Government to ensure we can capitalise on it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Albanese Government has marked a significant milestone in delivering Australia\u2019s future surface combatant fleet today, with the laying of the keel for the first Hunter class frigate at South Australia\u2019s Osborne Naval Shipyard. Honouring a centuries-old naval tradition, the keel laying sees a coin placed beneath the keel of the ship to bestow good … Continue reading “‘Keel laying’ for Australia’s first Hunter class frigate”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40575","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aussie"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40575","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40575"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40575\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40576,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40575\/revisions\/40576"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40575"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40575"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40575"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\u201cThe Hunter class frigate program is a critical part of the Albanese Government\u2019s plan for giving the Navy the capabilities it needs to help keep Australia safe. It\u2019s also about supporting continuous naval shipbuilding and contributing a secure future made in Australia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n