[JLRC]

IZAR Signs Contract with Royal Australian Navy to Develop a Strategic Projection Ship
 
 
(Source: Izar; dated Oct. 8, web-posted Oct. 22, 2004)

(Issued in Spanish; unofficial translation by defense-aerospace.com)
 
 
 IZAR has signed a contract with the Royal Australian Navy to develop a strategic projection ship. The contract’s initial phase – a feasibility study of the ship’s design – is valued at $2 million.  
 
The contract reinforces Izar’s international position as a builder of this class of ship, which is a combination aircraft carrier and amphibious ship.  
 
The Royal Australian Navy’s requirements are about 95% similar to those of the strategic projection ship for which Izar has been awarded a contract by the Spanish Navy. IZAR is facing a single competitor, the French DCN shipyards.  
 
The initial feasibility phase will consist of six months of engineering work. Once concluded, if Izar’s proposal is accepted, new contracts will be negotiated for successive program phases, including functional project design and detailed architecture study. The contracts, which could include a substantial transfer of technology, would also include technical assistance and support during the shipbuilding phase.  
 
With this project, Izar has gained a very favourable position to offer other company products and systems, developed for other naval programs, for installation on this new ship.  
 
The strategic projection ship is a hybrid between an aircraft carrier and an amphibious ship, and combines an amphibious platform with an extensive flight deck. In addition, its large capacity in terms of helicopters make it eminently suitable for search and rescue operations and support in case of natural catastrophes and disasters.  
 
This latest contract demonstrates Izar’s new marketing policy, which calls for consecutive steps, each with positive margins, so as not to compromise the company’s financial situation.  
 
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[JLRC]

Armaris Chosen for the JP2048 Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) Project in Australia
 
 
(Source: Armaris; dated Oct. 15, web-posted Oct. 22, 2005)
 
 
 PARIS --- On 30 September 2004, Armaris signed a contract with the Australian government to deliver a preliminary report as part of the ongoing JP2048 project. This six-month study will concentrate on the feasibility of local construction of an LHD/Projection and Command Ship (BPC/Bâtiment de Projection et de Commandement) based on France’s new Mistral LHD-Class vessel. It will include an estimate of the associated costs of building it in Australia.  
 
As part of the JP2048 project, the Australian government decided to furnish its navy with two Mistral LHD-Class vessels. Delivery of the first vessel is scheduled for 2010.  
 
At the same time, DCN recently launched the first-of-class Mistral, the amphibious assault, or Projection and Command Ship (BPC), from their shipyard in Brest with Australian dignitaries present. This ultramodern, 21,600 tonne, 200-meter-long vessel was launched less than three years after the initial hull assembly was begun in July 2002.  
 
Simultaneously, construction of a second BPC – Tonnerre - is well underway, with delivery scheduled for 2006.  
 
Armaris, a joint venture of DCN and Thales, is responsible for realizing naval programs for export and international cooperation, and the development of the naval export activities of DCN and Thales Naval France in the area of warships and combat.  
 
Armaris is a prime contractor for the Malaysian navy’s submarine programs, for French-Italian Horizon-Class frigates, and the Royal Norwegian Navy’s “Skjold” fast patrol boats. It also recently carried out the study phase for FREMM multimission frigates, as part of a French-Italian cooperative program.  
 
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