Fairbanks Morse Defense last week broke ground on a $60 million manufacturing facility that will increase production on Virginia-class naval propulsion components funded in part from international AUKUS funds.
The company on Oct. 20 broke ground on the third Center of Excellence at the existing Bird-Johnson Propeller Company facility in Pascagoula, Miss., which it said should “effectively double” capacity to produce naval propulsion systems.
The installation costs $60 million, which includes a $27 million U.S. Navy investment via its partnership with the non-profit BlueForge Alliance that is working to support the industrial base. Of the Navy investment, $22 million of that is tied to Australia’s contribution to the U.S. Submarine Industrial Base under AUKUS Pillar I.
“Australia is contributing a total of $3 billion to uplift the U.S. SIB [Submarine Industrial Base] and support AUKUS objectives, with the first $2 billion received last year,” Matt Marburger, deputy director for AUKUS and International, said in a Navy statement. “We are investing these funds purposefully to activate and align our industrial base to deliver the capability our submarine force requires.
Australia’s funding contribution to the U.S. Submarine Industrial Base is focused on improving maintenance and production capacity of Virginia-class attack submarines to enable the planned sale of three to five boats to Australia in the 2030s before it later starts building the SSN-AUKUS submarines in the 2040s.
The Navy said the AUKUS Integration and Acquisition office, in collaboration with the U.S. Submarine Industrial Base program office, developed a spending plan to invest Australia’s funds in the most high-impact areas and maximize the impact of its contribution to the U.S. industrial base. The Navy said the new facility will be capable of producing propulsors, propellers, rotors and other related critical components for multiple shipbuilding programs.
Exchange Monitor affiliate Defense Daily first published a version of this story.
