BMT, a global leader in maritime engineering and design, has officially announced an exclusive partnership with BAE Systems Australia to jointly pursue the Commonwealth’s Anzac Class Design Support Contract (DSC). This high-stakes tender will determine the future technical sustainment and design support of the Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN) Anzac Class frigates—warships that have formed the backbone of Australia’s naval fleet for over two decades.
Branded as “DSC–West,” the new joint initiative consolidates the naval engineering strengths of BMT, BAE Systems Australia, and Australian Maritime Technologies (AMT) under one strategic umbrella. The consortium is anchored in the Henderson maritime precinct, a naval industry hub in Western Australia. Through this alliance, the partners aim to deliver high-value, sovereign maritime solutions tailored to meet the evolving needs of Australia’s defence landscape.
The Anzac Class frigates, introduced in the late 1990s, are integral to Australia’s maritime security architecture. Built collaboratively by Australia and New Zealand, and designed by Germany’s ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS), these vessels have seen extensive upgrades but now face the challenge of maintaining peak operational performance into the 2030s and beyond.
With the Commonwealth’s open tender now underway for the next phase of design and technical support, BMT and BAE Systems have positioned themselves as the partnership best equipped to sustain and future-proof this critical capability. Their bid goes far beyond business-as-usual engineering—it’s a deliberate, future-focused strategy designed to reduce risk, enhance resilience, and deliver results over the full lifecycle of the fleet.
BMT’s integration of AMT into its broader global operation has added serious firepower to its capabilities. AMT’s historical role in the original Anzac Class design effort, combined with its longstanding support to both the RAN and Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN), gives the DSC–West consortium a unique depth of institutional knowledge and technical lineage.
“DSC–West is more than just a team—it’s a convergence of capability,” said Graeme Nayler, Regional Business Director at BMT. “With AMT’s extensive experience now part of the BMT organisation, we offer a truly integrated and capable team ready to support the Commonwealth in achieving enduring operational performance.”
This integration is key. AMT retains an enduring technical relationship with the original ship designer TKMS. That lineage enables the partnership to access foundational design knowledge and design authority—something no other bidder can match.
Rob Dunbar, Managing Director of AMT, emphasized the strategic impact: “We’re proud to now be part of the wider BMT group and to be partnering with BAE Systems on this important program. By leveraging our historical knowledge and our strong relationship with TKMS, we’re well placed to ensure the continued performance of the Anzac Class fleet.”
For BAE Systems Australia, the Anzac Class is familiar territory. The company has been involved in its design, support, and sustainment since inception, including through previous capability upgrades and life-extension programs. That continuity of care and knowledge of the class is unmatched by most competitors.
“This teaming arrangement with BMT supports the continued growth of Australia’s sovereign defence capability in collaboration with local industry,” said Paul Berryman, Acting Managing Director at BAE Systems Australia – Maritime. “BAE Systems has been involved with the Anzac Class for over three decades, and we remain committed to working with the Commonwealth to ensure the fleet is capable, lethal, and ready.”
Berryman noted that this long-standing connection translates into lower integration risk, quicker problem resolution, and fewer surprises during the maintenance cycle. “We know these ships inside and out.”
What sets DSC–West apart is its tightly integrated model. Unlike competitor offerings that often piece together generalist engineering services or rely on loosely affiliated Technical Support Networks (TSNs), DSC–West provides a single, cohesive team that is already battle-tested in collaboration and delivery.
This model reduces delivery risk significantly. It also streamlines communications with Defence, which is often bogged down by multiple intermediaries in less unified approaches. Most importantly, it ensures certification integrity and safety assurance are maintained consistently throughout the life of the vessels.
The partnership also plans to use agile technical support frameworks and digital sustainment technologies to enhance performance outcomes. These include predictive maintenance tools, digital twins, and AI-driven decision support systems—all of which are designed to maximise vessel availability while reducing costs and downtime.
According to Nayler, this is about more than technical capacity—it’s about deep platform insight. “We’re not just talking about knowing what to do,” he said. “We’re talking about knowing why it matters—how specific design features influence capability, and how to preserve that edge through each stage of the platform’s lifecycle.”
The Anzac Class DSC tender is not just about keeping ships at sea. It’s a test of Australia’s broader ambition to grow and retain sovereign defence capability. In recent years, both major political parties have stressed the need to ensure Australia can design, build, maintain, and upgrade its naval assets without reliance on overseas firms.
DSC–West answers that call. Each partner brings a legacy of Australian investment, jobs, and technical training. BAE Systems has thousands of Australian employees and has been at the forefront of the Hunter Class Frigate Program and other major defence contracts. BMT has a growing regional presence and a reputation for thought leadership in naval architecture, risk management, and engineering science.
With AMT folded into BMT, the trio offers an end-to-end, sovereign solution—from design inception and configuration control to lifecycle integration and fleet sustainment.
While sovereign capability is the focus, the partnership isn’t constrained by national boundaries. BMT’s global footprint—spanning Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Americas—ensures access to global best practices, the latest engineering innovation, and cross-pollination of ideas from allied navies and international maritime clients.
This international reach adds resilience, not risk. It enables the team to draw on lessons from other naval programs and incorporate forward-leaning thinking into the Anzac Class program, including green ship design, decarbonisation strategies, and next-gen propulsion analysis.
That global advantage, however, is always applied through an Australian lens. As Nayler put it: “What makes us different is not just what we know—but how we use that knowledge in a sovereign context. This is about Australian jobs, Australian security, and Australian excellence.”
The Commonwealth’s decision on the DSC contract will shape the future of the Anzac Class fleet—arguably the RAN’s most proven combatant force—and influence the trajectory of Australia’s maritime industrial base.
With geopolitical tensions in the Indo-Pacific rising and the Defence Strategic Review calling for more agility and force projection from Australia’s Navy, the importance of reliable and future-proofed sustainment is more critical than ever. In this context, the DSC–West bid is more than just a pitch. It’s a national proposition.
The Anzac Class ships may be aging, but they are still vital assets. Extending their life safely and effectively requires both technical precision and a deep understanding of the original design DNA. It also demands a team that can innovate within constraints, respond quickly to operational demands, and embed flexibility for future upgrades.
In all these dimensions, the BMT-BAE-AMT team believes it holds the strongest hand.
In an era where defence programs are under intense scrutiny for value, speed, and delivery certainty, the formation of DSC–West marks a smart, calculated move by two of the most trusted names in naval sustainment. Their collective track record, engineering depth, and integration readiness make them uniquely suited to meet the Commonwealth’s goals.
BMT
BMT is a global design, engineering, science, and risk management consultancy known for solving complex maritime challenges. With over 1,300 professionals across the UK, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Americas, BMT delivers critical capability in ship design, systems integration, and lifecycle assurance. Its track record includes decades of support to allied navies and shipping operators, with a mission to make maritime operations safer, cleaner, and more efficient.
BAE Systems Australia
A leading defence contractor, BAE Systems Australia supports some of the country’s most complex defence programs, including air, land, and maritime platforms. The company employs more than 5,000 people across Australia and plays a key role in growing sovereign industrial capability through education, training, and local supply chain development.
AMT (Australian Maritime Technologies)
Now part of the BMT group, AMT has supported the Anzac Class since its inception and maintains deep relationships with global naval design authorities including TKMS. Based in Melbourne, AMT is a specialist naval engineering firm with capabilities spanning design support, configuration management, and fleet sustainment.
