Major US military shipbuilder Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) has made an initial purchase order of processed Australian steel from manufacturer Bisalloy Steel, to be used for training and testing.
This follows the announcement in December 2023 of the Australian Submarine Agency (ASA) entering into a contract with Bisalloy Steel for the qualification of Australian steel for use on Australia’s SSN-AUKUS submarines.
Bisalloy Steel will process steel at its Port Kembla facility for Newport News Shipbuilding, a division of HII, the largest military shipbuilder in the US and one of the companies that designs and builds US nuclear-powered submarines.
The integration of Australian steel into the NNS supply chain paves the way for further opportunities for local suppliers, and offers the potential to create more skilled jobs in Australia.
“This order of Aussie steel from a global leader in shipbuilding is not only testament to the efforts of the hard-working women and men at Bisalloy but also underscores the Albanese Government’s commitment to supporting local industry," said Pat Conroy, Minister for Defence Industry.
“This is a wonderful early example of opportunities for Australian companies to be part of the supply chains for the much larger submarine programs of our AUKUS partners.
“The Australian Government is committed to developing Australia’s industrial base to not just build and sustain our nuclear-powered submarine program, but to strengthen the AUKUS trilateral supply chains.”
The government is continuing collaboration with AUKUS partners and industry to develop the Australian supply chains and facilitate industry participation in the supply chains of the United Kingdom and United States.
A key initiative to support this objective is the Defence Industry Vendor Qualification (DIVQ) Program which was launched in January 2024.
DIVQ will help to accelerate the qualification of Australia products for entry into supply chains of our AUKUS partners.