QinetiQ has additively manufactured a set of replacement parts to support HMS Anson’s recent routine Submarine Maintenance Period in Australia.
The parts would typically have taken months, even years, to replace, bur QinetiQ achieved a turnaround time of just four weeks.
QinetiQ was able to reverse engineer the parts in the UK and securely transfer the technical data to its Australian colleagues. Local suppliers in Perth, WA, were tapped to manufacture most of the components, with QinetiQ Australia also producing some on the east coast.
After approval by the Submarine Delivery Group Additive Manufacturing Team, the parts were delivered to the crew of HMS Anson. The crew installed the components during the maintenance period at HMAS Stirling.
“QinetiQ’s global reach and established local engineering capability enabled us to move quickly to support HMS Anson in Australia,” said Corry Neale, CEO of QinetiQ Australia. “We will continue to support AUKUS Pillar 1 activities and provide opportunities to Australian companies to be part of this internationally significant, complex supply chain.”
While QinetiQ is a longstanding strategic partner to the UK’s Submarine Delivery Group, this is the first time that the Royal Navy has used advanced manufacturing to produce submarine components to support a routine SMP in Australia. This achievement represents a critical milestone on the road to enabling Submarine Rotational Force - West, a key part of AUKUS Pillar 1.
