| Rear Admiral Rowan Moffitt has been Head of Australia's Future Submarine Program since February 2009. RADM Moffitt will be presenting on the Government’s intention to double the size of Australia’s submarine force is a bold, game-changing rebalancing of Australia’s military order of battle. There will be few easy choices, especially since we are starting from a submarine capability that is challenged and has been delivering below expectation. | |
| Venue | 122 Parry Street Newcastle West , Newcastle Division, NSW |
| Date | Wednesday 20 June, 2012 5.30pm for 6.00pm |
| Members Cost | Complimentary |
| Non Members Cost | $10 |
| Event Contact | Rhiannon Hegarty |
| Contact Phone | 02 6270 6563 |
| Contact Email | rhegarty@engineersaustralia.org.au |
| Hosted By | Australian Society for Defence Engineering |
| Downloads | flyer.pdf(371KB) |
Future Submarines - Few Easy Choices
The Government’s intention to double the size of Australia’s submarine force is a bold, game-changing rebalancing of Australia’s military order of battle. There will be few easy choices, especially since we are starting from a submarine capability that is challenged and has been delivering below expectation.
The Defence White Paper 2009 plan to assemble new submarines in South Australia will be a long, expensive undertaking with significant risk. For the Future Submarines Program to succeed there needs to be a national determination and willingness to work through the challenges we will inevitably confront. Scoping the undertaking realistically will be essential, as will setting a clear vision of what we want to achieve and why. A key part of that will be a clear understanding of what we need from industry and academia – especially in the engineering disciplines.
Rear Admiral Rowan Moffitthas been Head of Australia’s Future Submarine Program since February 2009.
Born and schooled in Sydney, Admiral Moffitt graduated from the Royal Australian Naval College, Jervis Bay, at the end of 1975. A surface warfare officer and specialist navigator, he completed a number of sea and shore postings before commissioning the frigate HMAS NEWCASTLE as Commanding Officer in mid-1993. A tour as the Fleet Operations Officer followed, after which he undertook a year of full time study to achieve a Master of Business Administration. Command of the destroyer HMAS BRISBANE preceded his promotion to Commodore and posting to Navy Headquarters as Director General Navy Capability Management at the end of 1999. In mid-2001 he took command of the Australian Defence Force Warfare Centre located on the RAAF Base at Williamtown.
Promoted to Rear Admiral in mid-2002, he served as the Deputy Chief of Navy, Maritime Commander Australia and Deputy Chief of Joint Operations before undertaking a study into submarine workforce sustainability in 2008, a period which gave him very useful preparation for his role as Head of the Future Submarine Program.
