Australian Defence call-out to industry on sea boat capabilities.

The Australian Defence has issued a request for information (RFI) on AusTender to gain an appreciation of Australian industry capabilities to design, manufacture and sustain military sea boats.

The sea boat is an essential enabler of maritime capability (Picture source: Australian Government, Dept of Defence)

Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group’s (CASG) First Assistant Secretary Ships, Sheryl Lutz, said the four-week RFI would help inform procurement options for Australian-manufactured sea boats. “The RFI will help CASG determine a baseline level of Australian Industry Content to inform future sea boat procurements across the Royal Australian Navy,” Ms. Lutz said. “The military sea boat is launched and recovered from a warship or submarine for the purpose of conducting naval operations at sea and is considered an essential enabler of maritime capability.

“The objectives of the RFI include establishing what Australian industry capabilities currently exist, and could potentially be developed, to design, manufacture and support sea boats for the RAN. Normally, Defence would host industry briefings around the country for such a significant RFI. However, given the current government guidelines around COVID-19 and mass gatherings, we have pursued alternative information sharing options such as social media.”

Vendors, both locally and internationally, will need to be registered on AusTender to access RFI details. The RFI closes on April 30, 2020.