PARIS — French arms procurement chief Laurent Collet-Billon flew to Australia to meet the defense industry minister and naval chief on a two-day visit, as the French official highlighted a strong government commitment to Australia's Future Submarine Program, said the Direction Générale de l'Armement, or DGA.
"There was excellent dialogue at a very high level with (Defence Industry Minister) Christopher Pyne, which allowed us to study the outlook for current programs and consider the steps needed to see this program through," Collet-Billon told Defense News. "I am very confident Australia has the capability to complete this program according to plan."
The procurement chief — who rarely makes official foreign trips — visited Australia May 4 and 5, the DGA said in a May 11 statement. The visit included meetings with Chief of the Royal Australian Navy Vice Adm. Tim Barrett; Kim Gillis, deputy secretary of Australia's Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group; and other officials.
Gillis briefed Collet-Billon on the Future Submarine Program and other initiatives in which France is engaged, the DGA said.
That visit "symbolizes" the high level of French representatives in the Australian program, said Jean-Pierre Maulny, deputy director of the French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs think tank. This is not about the high value of the contract but the deep level of French government commitment, he added.
Collet-Billon also visited the dockyards of Australian Submarine Corporation at Adelaide, south Australia, where a six-strong fleet of Collins attack submarines undergo maintenance. The 12 Future Submarine Program ocean-going boats will also be built at Adelaide.
France and French naval shipbuilder DCNS won an Australian tender in 2016 to design, build and maintain the new-generation diesel-electric submarines, a deal worth A$50 billion (U.S. $36.8 billion).
A five-year design contract for the submarine initiative is due to be signed in autumn, the DGA said. The French government will keep close track of the program, in line with an intergovernmental agreement signed with Australia on Dec. 20 2016.
The visit by the DGA chief also served to underscore close bilateral ties, marked by the heavy loss of lives of troops from the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps during World War I. Collet-Billon paid a floral tribute at a ceremony at the war memorial in Canberra.
