VEEM hosts Deputy Prime Minister and HII as part of AUSSQ submarine supply program

VEEM proudly hosted the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, the Hon. Richard Marles MP, along with the Hon. Matt Keogh MP and Sam Lim MP, at our Canning Vale facility as part of the Australian Submarine Supplier Qualification (AUSSQ) pilot program. Also in attendance were Tim Brown AM and Ashley Schneider from HII – Huntington Ingalls Industries, the largest military shipbuilder in the United States and a key AUKUS partner.

VEEM is one of a small number of Australian manufacturers participating in the AUSSQ program, which is designed to assess and qualify local suppliers for entry into the US and UK naval supply chains. With a long history of delivering cast and machined components to Australian naval programs, VEEM is leveraging this opportunity to align its defence manufacturing capabilities with the stringent requirements of the Virginia and Astute-class submarine programs.

Deputy Prime Minister Marles described the visit as a critical step in strengthening Australia’s role within the AUKUS framework, stating:

“This offers the opportunity for VEEM to be qualified such that it can contract directly with HII in the United States… It’s a huge step forward for VEEM, it’s a huge step forward for Australian industry. But what’s really important about this in the longer term, and this is the critical goal, is VEEM being qualified to supply onto the Virginia class program in the United States is a pathway to also supplying into the Astute class program in the United Kingdom.”

VEEM looks forward to progressing through the AUSSQ qualification process in partnership with HII and continuing its contribution to sovereign industrial capability in support of Australia’s national defence objectives.