Asian Defence News1

Wednesday, October 27, 2021

Australia Issues $5.1 Bio Tender for AWD Destroyer Support

Critical role for industry in $5.1 billion support of Hobart class destroyers

Australia’s defence industry will act as a ‘steward’ for the Royal Australian Navy’s Hobart class destroyers under a new approach to sustainment that will optimise the destroyers’ capability and create hundreds of jobs in South Australia.

Tenders opened today for a Capability Life Cycle Manager, which will see industry support and sustain the destroyers through their lifespan.

Minister for Defence Industry Melissa Price encouraged Australian industry to become part of an innovative new model sustaining Navy’s ships.

“This model builds on the success of our continuous naval shipbuilding initiative and has been designed to ensure we can continue to deliver complex naval capability at sea that is reliable and fit-for-purpose,” Minister Price said.

“It includes performing asset management for the capability and supporting the upgrade of their combat management system.

“Once again the Morrison Government is delivering enormous opportunities for Australia’s defence industry, particularly in South Australia.”

The Morrison Government will invest up to $5.1 billion for the upgrades at the Osborne Naval Shipyard in South Australia – creating 300 jobs in the State – as part of a major expansion of Australia’s naval capabilities announced on 16 September 2021.

The destroyers will be the first major platform to have a Capability Life Cycle Manager, a further step in the realisation of the Future Maritime Sustainment Model under Plan Galileo – Defence’s new national, innovative approach to sustainment.

It follows the appointment of Raytheon as the Capability Life Cycle Manager for the new Arafura class offshore patrol vessels in December 2020.

An Industry Briefing will be held about the Hobart class destroyer Capability Life Cycle Manager on 4 November 2021.

Tenders will need to be received on or before 21 January 2022.

Vietnam Unveils Locally Made Self Propelled Howitzer

PTH-130 - K255B (Vietnamese: Pháo Tự Hành 130 ly - Khung Gầm KrAZ-255/English: KrAZ-255-mounted 130mm self-propelled field gun) of Vietnam People Army making a surprise apperance on a QPVN channel. The PTH130-K225B 130mm SPG developed by the Military Technical Institute.

The Vietnamese SPG strongly resembles Cuba's Jupiter V SPG and is implied to be based upon it due to Cuban-Vietnamese military cooperation. Both use the older Soviet M1954 (M-46) 130mm towed field gun as their main weapon.

The intention to create the PTH130-K225B can be traced back to 2017 after it was announced that plans would be made to do so following the successful trials of the PTH105 (old American 105mm howitzers on the chassis of a Ural).Other militaries in Southeast Asia have opted to supplement or completely replace their towed artillery with SPGs. Now the People's Army of Vietnam will be able to follow suit.