What the Navy’s Future Focus Means for WA
Stakeholders in Western Australia’s Defence Sector were offered a rare opportunity to engage directly with the ADF top brass on Tuesday, 4 August, when AIDN-WA in an exclusive breakfast function played host to the Chief of Navy, Vice-Admiral Tim Barrett.
UVS CEO, Neil Hodges, presented at the event with his presentation theme being “Providing Service to the RAN”. Mr Hodges started by giving an overview of the company, which produces Autonomous Underwater Vehicles, oceanographic and hydrographic equipment for the RAN, recently celebrated 15 years in operation, having started as “two guys in a garage”. He then expounded how Defence contracts had impacted on the growth of his company, with the opening up of branches around the country to be “closer to the customer”, and to provide “operational support, repair and maintenance, and an urgent response should it be required.” With this there were efficiency gains in operating on both the east and west coast, as “skills don’t need to be replicated, staff can be moved to different locations as needed, and are willing to travel to remote locations as becomes operationally necessary”.
He concluded that whilst “large contractors will continue to be of prime importance to the Navy”, there will be, and should always, be room for local innovation and production.
The full report of the AIDN-WA breakfast is shown below.
What the Navy’s Future Focus Means for WA (342 KB)
