Thales Australia's in-service support contract for Defence's Maritime Tactical Wide Area Network under SEA 1442 Phase 3 is now operative.

The US division of Australian-headquartered Austal has been awarded a US Navy contract to construct one Independence Class Littoral Combat Ship.

The US Navy is hedging its bets on the Littoral Combat Ship, awarding both Austal and a Lockheed Martin-led team contracts for another 10 ships each.

HMAS Melbourne, which is currently serving in the Middle East, has been recognised as the best ship in the Royal Australian Navy fleet.

Lockheed Martin-Marinette Marine and Austal USA have agreed to extend their price guarantees for the Littoral Combat Ship until December 30 2010.

The RFP for Sea 1408 Phase 2 closed on 13 December, but the project is taking a different path.

Rumours abound that the RAN may be acquiring an ex-Royal Navy Bay Class Landing Ship Dock as a result of the UK Ministry of Defence cutbacks.

Rather than selecting one shipyard for a 10-ship order, the US Navy now hopes to buy 10 Littoral Combat Ships each from Lockheed Martin and Austal USA.

Austal has been awarded the construction contract for the fourth and fifth vessels of the US Department of Defense’s Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV), as part of a program potentially worth over US$1.6 billion.

Not since the 1980s and early 1990s has Australia seen two major ship construction programs under way simultaneously.

Unsurprisingly, the Defence White Paper’s plans to double Australia’s underwater fleet struck no opposition at the annual conference of the Submarine Institute of Australia (SIA).

Australia's Collins class submarines are to be the subject of an official Royal Australian Navy Seaworthiness Board for the second time in just over a year.

Defence Minister Steven Smith has opened the 5th biennial Submarine Institute of Australia conference in Fremantle.

Reports say the Air Warfare Destroyer project has had its first serious setback through the 'botched' construction of the central keel block of the first ship.

Defence has selected Singapore shipyard ST Marine as the preferred tenderer to convert the RAN tanker HMAS Success to be double hulled.

Austal and CEA Technologies are showcasing their products at Euronaval in Paris on 25-29 October 2010.