The Australian government July 29 announced Australia’s Bisalloy Steel received a $2 million purchase order from U.S. submarine shipbuilder General Dynamics Electric Boat, the first time an Australian company received such an order under the tripartite AUKUS agreement.
The agreement covers an order for HY80 steel plate to support production and construction of Virginia-class submarines following the company’s qualification for the U.S. Navy’s structural steel standards, according to the release from the Minister for Defence Industry. Bisalloy was qualified via the Australian government’s Defense Industry Vendor Qualification, first established in 2024. This qualification allows Australian companies to enter the U.S. submarine supply chain. The qualification process included a “close collaboration” between Bisalloy, Bluescope, the Australian Submarine Agency, General Dynamics and the U.S. Direct Reporting Portfolio Manager for Submarines to demonstrate Australian industry’s ability to meet the standards for submarine construction.
Separately, the government selected the Australian subsidiary of Leidos Gibbs and Cox to lead primary design for a “contingency dry dock” the government plans to establish in Western Australia to support the future nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSN) capability. The government said selecting the designer now for floating dry dock services will ensure Australia is ready to perform the repairs and maintenance for the future SSN fleet starting in the early 2030s.
The government plans to be ready to conduct submarine depot-level maintenance starting in the late 2030s. It also said this dry dock capability is a “pre-condition of Australia receiving its first Virginia-class submarine and will provide a critical contingency capability for Australia and its partners.”
The dry dock work is part of the government’s initial $8.4 billion investment for the Henderson Defence Precinct to perform submarine work.
Exchange Monitor affiliate Defense Daily first published a version of this story.