HII Nuclear Australia has launched a $684 million supplier capability uplift program to drive the development of the defense industry supply chain in South Australia, focusing on capabilities to support Canberra’s nuclear submarine initiatives.
HII said in a statement on Monday that five companies have been selected to participate in the program, the initial effort contained in a memorandum of understanding signed with the South Australian government in November.
The participants — McKechnie Iron Foundry, Century Engineering, Levett Engineering, H-E Parts International and MacTaggart Scott Australia — are now undergoing HII-NA’s supplier technical assessment and validation review to pinpoint the capabilities they need to compete for tasks in Australia’s Virginia-class nuclear submarine program and U.S. defense projects.
After the review, HII-NA will recommend areas for capability development and improvement to enable the companies to apply for funding from the state’s lead economic development agency to address the identified gaps. South Australia’s government said it would also support efforts to build the participants’ competitiveness in contracts for global shipbuilding and sustainment projects.
Other activities under the MOU include collaborations with academia and local companies on workforce development, such as conducting pilot programs with training providers and increasing workforce pipeline diversity in the STEM fields.