Thales Australia has revealed the company’s Carrington site, on the Newcastle foreshore, is being developed in a bid to support the Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN) mine countermeasures and military survey capability Sea 1905-1 program.
“Newcastle, and the Hunter region, have been a stalwart of the RAN’s mine countermeasure capability from the time of construction of the first Huon class MHC vessels by ADI in the nineties, through to today, with MHC maintenance and support continued to be carried out at Carrington," said Troy Stephen, Vice President Underwater Systems, Thales Australia and New Zealand.
"As Newcastle has evolved into a modern metropolis, the RAN’s Mine Countermeasures and Military Survey Capability will also undergo rapid advancement and a significant technological step-change into autonomy under SEA1905-1."
"Carrington, the home of the MHC, is the ideal location to develop and deliver the next generation of sovereign mine warfare capability for the RAN, providing the ideal test and evaluation environment whilst generating significant investment in local SMEs and jobs in the region.”
Establishment of the new Maritime Autonomy and SME Collaboration Precinct is expected to inject over $40 million in the local Hunter economy in the first five years and create over 100 new jobs, should Thales be selected for the Sea 1905-1 program.