Following a visit last week to Afghanistan, the Minister for Defence Materiel Jason Clare accompanied by the Chief of Navy Vice Admiral Ray Griggs, has visited the United Kingdom for meetings with Defence officials and representatives from Defence industryincluding Gerald Howarth MP, UK Minister for International Security Strategy.
The minister also met with Mr Bernard Gray, UK Chief of Defence Materiel; Rear Admiral Steve Lloyd, UK Chief Strategic Systems Executive, MOD; Mr Richard Paniguian CBE, Head of UK Trade and Investment Defence and Security Organisation; and Mr Keith Smith, Regional Director Asia Pacific, UK Trade and Investment Defence and Security Organisation.
They also met Dr John Coles, BMT Defence Services, who will lead the recently announced review of submarine sustainment in Australia as well as representatives of BAE Systems and Babcock Marine.
The two were then scheduled to go on to Spain where they will inspect the hulls of the RAN’s two new LHDs and will meet with Constantino Mendez, Spanish State Secretary of Defence and Mr Paco Baron, Navantia’s Vice President for Commercial and Industrial Cooperation as well senior representatives of Airbus Military.