Minister for Defence - Air Warfare Destroyer added to Projects of Concern list

Minister for Defence Senator David Johnston today announced that the Air Warfare Destroyer (AWD) Project will be placed on the Projects of Concern (PoC) list.

Senator Johnston said the AWD project will be added to the PoC list as part of the plan to address the increasing commercial, schedule and cost risks outlined by the independent review by Professor Don Winter and Dr John White.

The Auditor General has also released a review into aspects of this program, which points to cost overruns at that time of over $300 million.

“The Government is taking decisive action at this point to get this program back on track,” Senator Johnston said.

“I have accepted the recommendation of the CEO of the Defence Materiel Organisation Warren King that the project be added to the list to better address the risks and ensure that this important project is delivered successfully,” Senator Johnston said.

“The Air Warfare Destroyer will be a central component of the Navy’s future surface capability. For this reason it is critical that we get this important project back on track.”

Senator Johnston said the PoC process is a proven and efficient methodology for remediating troubled projects.

In 2007 the Commonwealth entered into an Alliance contracting arrangement with industry partners ASC and Raytheon to construct the three Air Warfare Destroyers and their support system in Australia.

All three ships were originally expected to be built and delivered by June 2017, however the project has experienced considerable delays and the last ship will now not be completed until at least March 2019.

Media contacts:

Rebecca Horton (Senator Johnston’s office) 0447 389 554

Defence Media Operations (02) 6127 1999