• Tasmania's mountain lakes are used to test sonar equipment. Pixabay
    Tasmania's mountain lakes are used to test sonar equipment. Pixabay
  • Taylor Bros will work on accommodation for the OPVs. Credit: Luerssen
    Taylor Bros will work on accommodation for the OPVs. Credit: Luerssen
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A flurry of announcements has seen Tasmanian SMEs and researchers win contracts with major projects and primes.

Hobart-based Taylor Bros Marine has announced a contract with Luerssen Australia. The company will be involved in the design, production and installation of the accommodation spaces on Australia’s 12 Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs).

“I’m pleased Luerssen Australia has brought Taylor Bros Marine on board for the 12 vessels,” Minister for Defence Industry Christopher Pyne said. “This marks the ongoing involvement of Taylor Bros in Australia’s continuous naval shipbuilding enterprise which has seen the company work on projects such as the LHD Amphibious Assault Ships and Air Warfare Destroyers.”

“This latest announcement provides Taylor Bros employee’s ongoing security and allows the company to retain its expertise in naval outfitting.”

The company currently employs 90 personnel, with around 60 per cent of its work Defence-related. It was tapped by Navantia for Sea 5000, although the Spanish company later lost out to BAE.

In a separate announcement, the Australian Maritime College partnered with Thales to investigate establishing a trials and test facility for naval sonar systems in Tasmania.

Thales Australia, AMC and AMOG Consulting agreed to co-develop a facility which can utilise northern Tasmania’s deepwater lakes to test the next generation of Australian submarine and surface ship sonar systems.

Tasmania's mountain lakes are well-suited to testing sonar equipment. Pixabay
Tasmania's mountain lakes are well-suited to testing sonar equipment. Pixabay

Thales Australia CEO Chris Jenkins said the initiative was part of the organisation’s commitment to work collaboratively with leading Australian SMEs and universities to deliver high-technology, leading-edge solutions for Defence.

“Thales has worked with AMC and AMOG Consulting on a number of sonar trials activities, and with the Australian government’s historic recapitalisation of the RAN, now is the time to investigate establishing a permanent facility,” Jenkins said.

“From 1990 to 2000 Thales and AMC tested and calibrated the in-service array for Australia’s Collins Class submarines in Tasmania’s deep mountain lakes as they provide an ideal environment for sonar systems.”

ARC Research Training Centre for Naval Design and Manufacturing Director Jonathan Binns welcomed the opportunity to further AMC and the University of Tasmania’s strategic alliance with Thales.

“Thales is a founding member of the research training centre, and this new agreement will build upon our work in understanding the hydroacoustics and hydrodynamics of sonar systems – how noise travels through water and how water moves around an object such as a submarine hull or ship’s propeller,” Binns said.

“This collaboration with Thales will allow us to undertake cutting-edge research that will ultimately feed into the design, manufacturing and sustainment of Australia’s next generation of naval vessels."

AMC Associate Professor Michael Woodward said the college had a strong reputation for partnering with industry to provide innovative research solutions in a maritime context.

“AMC has a critical mass of technical expertise and physical research facilities in hydrodynamic experimentation, while Tasmania is blessed with deep and isolated lakes that are ideally suited for a scale of testing that is yet to be explored globally,” Woodward said.

“Bringing both of these together presents a unique opportunity to develop a new and novel experimental testing capability, with the potential to attract further investment and industry collaborations to build Australia’s naval research and development capabilities.”

In April, Jeremy Rockcliff, State Minister for Advanced Manufacturing and Defence Industries, went on a trade mission to the United States to seek opportunities for the island's defence industry. 

The mission sought to address the low amount of Defence spending in the state relative to the mainland.

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