South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas toured HII’s Virginia operations on Friday to support the AUKUS trilateral partnership of Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Malinauskas visited the U.S. company’s Newport News Shipbuilding site to advance his government’s deal with HII to prepare South Australia for big shipbuilding projects under AUKUS.
A memorandum of understanding signed by the two parties in November 2023 will establish a collaborative working arrangement, with the shipbuilder extending its maritime industrial expertise to the Australian state.
According to HII, the agreement aims to develop a skilled Australian workforce and bolster the country’s industry capability.
Michael Lempke, head of Australia business at HII, stressed that the company would address South Australia’s critical skills requirements and enable it to create an infrastructure for building, operating, and sustaining modern submarines.
“It was an honor to see Premier Malinauskas again, this time in the United States, and demonstrate HII’s long history of workforce and supply chain development expertise,” Lempke said.
During his visit to HII’s NNS facility, Malinauskas announced a new agreement with HII to help select South Australian companies participate in the global supply chain for nuclear-powered submarines.
Under the company’s Supplier Capability Uplift Program, the U.S. company will review participating companies and provide recommendations for capability development and improvement activities, the premier said.