Concept art of a SSN AUKUS. (BAE Systems)
MELBOURNE — A Leidos subsidiary has been selected to design the dry dock for Australia’s future nuclear-powered submarines.
Leidos Gibbs and Cox, a US-based company with Australian offices, will lead the preliminary design of a contingency dry dock for critical repairs and maintenance on the submarines Australia will operate under AUKUS Pillar 1, according to an Australian Department of Defense announcement Wednesday.
“This contingency dry dock capability is a critical pre-condition of Australia receiving its first Virginia class submarine and will provide a critical contingency capability for Australia and its partners,” the Australian DoD said in a news release.
The release added that the dry dock “forms part of the Government’s broader investment in Western Australia across HMAS Stirling and the Henderson Defence Precinct for sovereign shipbuilding,” referring to a naval base and a industrial site that are expanding to support AUKUS.
