Thales, Orbis to Enhance Royal Australian Navy Maritime Sustainment Capabilities
Thales Australia has teamed with South Carolina engineering firm Orbis Sibro to enhance the Royal Australian Navy’s maritime sustainment operations at Fleet Base East in Garden Island, Sydney.
The partnership will focus on delivering shipyard infrastructure optimization and technological innovations for the site.
To further advance the base’s capability, the companies conducted feasibility studies on the navy’s current support and sustainment setup, workforce, upskilling, and mentoring programs.
Works under the collaboration will be conducted under Australia’s National Naval Shipbuilding and Sustainment Enterprise initiative, which invests in long-term sustainable shipbuilding approaches while securing jobs for the country.
Modernizing Maritime Environment
The Thales-Orbis teaming is expected to bolster the Royal Australian Navy’s maritime support and maintenance across the region.
The resulting solutions will improve Australia’s naval cooperation with the US and allied nations.
“This partnership will help deliver greater integration of platform and infrastructure through digitisation and automation of the maritime sustainment environment, which is necessary to increase the readiness, availability and performance of RAN fleets and assets,” Thales Australia Above Water Systems Vice President Max Kufner stated.
Leveraging Experience
For two decades, Thales has supported Australian defense and commercial fleets from Fleet Base East. Meanwhile, Orbis has supplied sustainment solutions to the US Navy for more than 20 years.
“Orbis’s origin and roots are in the United States Navy’s submarine program.
“As the requirements for integration and interoperability grew, Orbis leveraged and applied the knowledge, experience, and expertise developed through its submarine experience to broader Navy-wide challenges, including global supply chain, shore infrastructure, and other sustainment ecosystem challenges.”
“Partnering with Thales to lead critical elements of the Commonwealth of Australia’s Plan Galileo is as much an obligation as it is an opportunity,” Orbis Submarine Initiatives Vice President Greg Thomas stated.
