Future Submarine Program - Statement

The Future Submarine Program is managed by an extremely experienced executive with more than 250 years of collective project management experience.

Mr Kim Gillis is the Deputy Secretary Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group (CASG) in Defence. Mr Gillis has more than 20 years of senior level program management experience and extensive industry experience in maritime programs. He has led major defence acquisition programs and managed major maritime capability construction and delivery while working in Defence industry.

The team assembled to manage the Future Submarine Project is led by Mr Stephen Johnson, General Manager Submarines, who is a highly accomplished program manager.

Mr Johnson served as the Director of the Strategic Systems Program and had a major role in the design of the United States Virginia Class, as well as serving as Program Manager for the Seawolf Class. These are the most complex and advanced submarines available.

Mr Johnson’s biography can be found on the Defence website at this link: http://www.defence.gov.au/casg/multimedia/stephen_e._johnson_bio_accessible-9-7221.pdf.

The Program is led by Rear Admiral (RADM) Greg Sammut, the most senior submariner in Defence. RADM Sammut has applied his 34 years of experience as a Naval Officer across a number of submarine capability management roles, including as Head Future Submarine Program since September 2013.

RADM Sammut is building a high performance team of local and international experts to meet the many complex challenges associated with the design and delivery of the Future Submarine Program. The growing team comprises experts with experience in project management, platform and combat systems, legal, maritime industry and infrastructure, and is supported by highly experienced commercial advisors.

RADM Sammut’s biography can be found on the Defence website at this link: http://www.navy.gov.au/biography/rear-admiral-gregory-john-sammut

Defence has also engaged a Platform Director with over 23 years of acquisition project management experience, including production, with a Masters in Mechanical Engineering specialising in underwater acoustics and structural vibration. He also has the highest level of project management and systems engineering accreditation under the United States Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA), in addition to high‑level accreditation in Production Environment.

In addition, Defence has engaged a Combat System Director with over 28 years of service as a United States Naval Officer, including 21 years of submarine acquisition experience and 14 years of experience in submarine operations, who has a Bachelors in Engineering and Masters in Business Administration. He has attained the highest level of project management accreditation under the DAWIA, in addition to high level accreditation in systems engineering and business financial management. He also has a further 22 years of program management experience including 5 years with a major defence manufacturing company.

The Naval Shipbuilding Advisory Board provide expert, independent advice to Government on all aspects of naval shipbuilding as plans are finalised for establishing and sustaining a viable, continuous naval shipbuilding capability in Australia and its members have more than a century of collective submarine and shipbuilding design and construction expertise.

Its members include a number of former project managers for the Seawolf and Virginia class of submarines, as well as project leads for some of the most complex advanced research and development programs for the largest and most capable navy in the world.

The Advisory Board provides independent advice to government from a team of experts with unprecedented credentials and real-world experience running complex defence projects.

The Naval Shipbuilding Advisory Board has met in person on eight occasions.  A further five meetings of the Naval Shipbuilding Advisory Board have occurred via teleconference, between scheduled meetings. 

During scheduled meetings, the Advisory Board routinely meets with members of the Government and receives briefings from a range of senior executives across the Department of Defence, Department of Finance, Department of Education and Training and the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

During past meetings the Advisory Board has also met with industry and state government representatives located in the Australian Marine Complex in Henderson in Western Australia, the Osborne shipbuilding precinct in South Australia and defence industry executives in Canberra. The Advisory Board previously held discussions with international shipbuilders in the United States and Canada to gain insight to lessons learned from comparable shipyard redesign efforts and major shipyard infrastructure investments.

The Submarine Advisory Committee was appointed by the Minister for Defence and Minister for Defence Industry in December 2017 and will shortly convene for the first time.  The Submarine Advisory Committee complements the role of the Naval Shipbuilding Advisory Board.

The Submarine Advisory Committee is comprised of Australian and international experts with significant experience in naval shipbuilding and related complex project management activities at a national level, naval engineering, submarine design and delivery, and submarine operations.  These experts include a former US Director Naval Nuclear Propulsion, a former Head of Navy Engineering for the Royal Australian Navy, and a former President of Bath Iron Works and General Dynamics National Steel and Shipbuilding Company.