AERIUS Marine Australia has been contracted to design and supply the Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning systems for the first three Hunter class frigates, BAE Systems Australia stated.
Under the agreement with BAE Systems Maritime Australia, AERIUS will design, manufacture and install three shipsets of HVAC equipment to manage onboard climate control across the Royal Australian Navy’s new anti-submarine warfare vessels.
Based in Hobart, AERIUS Marine Australia is the original equipment manufacturer for the HVAC system used in the UK’s Type 26 frigates, which form the basis of the Hunter class design. According to BAE Systems, the system has been adapted for the Australian variant but will draw on AERIUS’s existing expertise to deliver more than 900 components that make up each system.
The contract represents the final Long Lead Time Items agreement for the first three Hunter class frigates and completes all platform and combat system contracts for Batch 1 of the program.
“We welcome AERIUS Marine Australia to the Hunter Class Frigate Program and look forward to working closely with a leading provider of global maritime HVAC solutions,” said Andy Coxall, Delivery Director for Acquisition at BAE Systems Maritime Australia. “The Hunter class frigates are the bedrock of continuous naval shipbuilding in Australia, and we are committed to developing Australian industry capability.”
Coxall added that more than 80 Australian companies are now under contract to supply parts and services for the first three ships, contributing to “more than 5,000 jobs across BAE Systems Australia and the wider defence supply chain over the life of the program.”
AERIUS Managing Director Shankar Rasiah said the company was expanding its local involvement in the program. “We have been engaged to date in the design and 3D modelling of the HVAC system with a core team of Australian engineers and draftspersons undertaking this design work,” he said. “These engineers and draftspersons together with specialist service providers, manufacturers and contractors, each drawn from Australia’s marine industry, will form part of the AERIUS capability necessary to deliver the HVAC system for the frigates.”
I suppose we are about to be bombarded by “only 3 sets on order, RAN is cutting the numbers of Hunters again”. There is a big difference between lead times for many components and HVAC isn’t one of the longest build items. If anyone thinks BAe ordered 8 HVAC sets up front for the current T26’s then they are wrong it was 3 for the B1’s then 5 for the B2’s and 🤞🏻 TBC for the 5 Norwegian ones.
FYI AURIUS is a German company but has sub units in U.K., Australia and India
Are these Ships, Self Righting ?