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Risks stalk Australia’s Hunter class

23rd February 2022 - 21:02 GMT | by Gordon Arthur in Christchurch

RSS

The Hunter class will be an extremely capable warship, but few major Australian procurement projects start smoothly. (RAN)

It is common for large Australian military procurements to go awry, but officials remain upbeat about progress on its new frigates.

The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) has a spotty record when it comes to fully revealing the status of procurement programmes, a case in point being the Attack-class submarine. There are persistent reports about issues with Hunter-class frigates too.

Nine frigates are being built by BAE Systems Australia, with the Department of Defence deciding last year to push the project back by 18 months.

Added to this were findings from a 36-page Engineering Team Assessment prepared by the Department of Defence in November 2021. Leaked to The Australian on 1 February 2022, the report warned of risks

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