Australia has announced the launch of a programme to employ 200 young professionals as part of the Submarine Rotational Force - West (SRF-W) initiative to provide Canberra with the capability to own, operate and maintain nuclear-powered submarines. The announcement was published on the country's Department of Defence website.
According to the statement, the SRF-W initiative will enable ASC Pty Ltd (Australia's state-owned submarine building corporation) to employ around 200 young professionals in priority areas of submarine manufacturing over the next two years. Among the relevant qualifications are manufacturing and machining, engineering and project management. It is also planned to staff the facilities with logistics speacialists and operators as part of the programme.
The cabinet of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has already committed to investing up to A$8bn ($5.42bn) in the infrastructure needed to sustain the SFR-W initiative from 2027 and operate its own Virginia-class nuclear submarines from the beginning of the next decade. The nuclear submarine development and production programme is expected to create around 20,000 high-skilled jobs in Australia.
Earlier, the US, UK and Australia, members of the AUKUS defence alliance, announced a decision to change the rules of export controls on defence products from September 1 to facilitate technology transfer and arms supplies to each other. Such measures were undertaken to help Canberra build and acquire nuclear submarines.
Later, it was also reported that Australia would begin production of long-range Naval Strike Missiles and Joint Strike Missiles in conjunction with Norway's Kongsberg Defence. It is officially stated that these measures are being taken as part of defence policy reforms being undertaken amid growing tensions in the Indo-Pacific region.
Source - Australian Department of Defence
