Program Partners

The AUKUS announcement in September 2021 set a new direction for Australia’s approach to security and defence capabilities, in response to significant changes in the national and global security outlook. The AUKUS announcement’s impacts included the heralding of a move away from plans for a conventionally powered Collins Class submarine replacement, to a nuclear-powered solution. Australia’s defence industry eagerly awaits further information from the Nuclear Powered Submarine Taskforce, expected in 2023, to better understand their potential role in Australia’s longest and largest Defence procurement program.

Above the sea, surface ship programs continue to make large strides across design, production and sustainment phases. The completion of a series of Hunter Class Frigate prototype modules is a key milestone in the commissioning of the new state-ofthe-art Osborne Naval Shipyard in South Australia. From a sustainment perspective, the implementation of Navy’s Plan Galileo is now addressing its Horizon Three objectives to deliver an integrated sustainment environment focusing on whole of life ship management. DSTG’s STaR Shots Program is providing a focus on longer-term, aspirational S&T missions to ensure Australia stays at the leading edge of technology development into the future. All of these programs are playing key roles in shaping the future of the Maritime domain.

These macro elements are driving changes in DMTC’s Maritime Program across all three of the program’s