On the northern fringe of Adelaide, in the small Hills suburb of One Tree Hill, this family’s week revolves around early starts, steel, and a shared sense of purpose — building Australia’s naval future.
Between them, Phil, 44, Amelia, 42, and their son Riley represent three generations of a family now firmly embedded in Australia’s defence industry through BAE Systems Australia shipbuilding and engineering programs.
Phil is a boilermaker leading hand who first worked on the Air Warfare Destroyer program at Osborne between 2011 and 2016 before rejoining BAE Systems in June 2023.
Today, he works across naval shipbuilding projects, including the Hunter program, and is also part of the site emergency response team.
“It’s work that matters,” Phil said.
“We get to contribute to the protection of our country, and that’s pretty cool.
“Defence has been a big part of the family with my brother and other relatives serving, so this is our way of contributing to that.”
Amelia works as a learning projects manager, helping support training and development across the workforce, while Riley has just started his Mechanical Engineering apprenticeship at Edinburgh Parks after completing a Certificate II in Engineering Pathways.
For Riley, the industry is already familiar territory.
In 2015, he attended the launch of HMAS Hobart, arriving early to see his dad on board during his involvement in the AWD program and sea trials.
“I got to the ship as early as I could to see Dad,” Riley said.
“I even got interviewed by Channel 9 and told them how proud I was.
“It was really cool.”
Amelia remembers the scale of the launch clearly.
“It was one of those days you never forget, seeing a project of that size come together and go into the water was just awe-inspiring.”
The family’s connection to defence runs deeper still, with Amelia noting the pride it brings to older generations.
“My granddad is 93 and served. It means a lot to him to see not just his grandchildren, but now his great-grandchildren, contributing to defence. It’s very special.”
At home, work rarely dominates conversation — life on their hobby farm tends to take over — but the shared understanding of what they do binds them closely.
Riley said starting his apprenticeship has been both challenging and rewarding.
“The team at Ed Parks are great. It’s hands-on, and I feel like I’m learning so much more doing the work than I did at school. The precision is mind-blowing.”
For Phil, seeing his son follow a similar path is a proud moment.
“It’s pretty amazing to see your kids become successful young adults. The fact that Riley has chosen something similar just makes me really proud.”
And for Riley, the ambition is simple.
“One day it would be a dream to work on a project together. Instead of Dad saying ‘I built that’, we could say ‘we built that’.”
How new SA brigade will boost Australia’s strike power
AUKUS may have placed South Australia at the heart of the nation’s defence sector but for the past two years, a new brigade has been quietly building the country’s military might at Edinburgh.
The 10th Fires Brigade was designed to bolster the nation’s long-range strike capabilities, forming a key part the Army’s transformation under the National Defence Strategy.
Established in 2024, the brigade has rapidly grown into a 1750-strong force with an unprecedented ability to strike land, air and maritime threats — such as ships and aircrafts — 500 kilometres away.
“It’s a bit of a quiet achiever, a quiet success story,” brigade commander Brigadier Corey Shillabeer told The Advertiser.
“Rightly a lot of attention is focused on the acquisition of the next generation of our submarines, which clearly impacts Australia nationally, but here in South Australia, the investment that is being made both in capability but also in people … shouldn’t be underestimated.”
Last month, the Federal Government announced it would inject a further $2.3 billion into the brigade to establish a second long‑range fires regiment, a move that will double the Army’s long-range strike capabilities.
The regiment will be armed with High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) – launchers that will allow army personnel to hit targets at distances of up to 500km.
In the future, those rocket launchers will be able to fire precision strike missiles, reaching ranges beyond 1000km.
The brigade’s 14 Regiment, established last year, was the first in the country to be equipped with HIMARS.
Last year during Exercise Talisman Sabre, they were used to fire the first precision strike missile in the country— two years ahead of schedule.
“It’s a high priority for not only Army, but the Defence Force, which is why so much attention within the Defence Force is being applied to (the brigade) and given a high priority,” Brigadier Shillabeer said.
“(This) is why we’ve been able to introduce their capabilities a lot faster than what we’ve traditionally had.”
He added the weapons systems provided to the 10th Brigade were being introducing into the service for the first time.
“For a long time, Army has been a recipient of joint effects, such as being reliant upon Airforce and Navy to provide certain capabilities for us … we are now being able to meaningfully provide capability to the joint force,” he said.
The second long‑range fires regiment will grow the 10th Brigade by a further 450 personnel, with the formation eventually expected to reach 3000 people.
AUKUS supply chain: The 3D printing revolution
WAM! An Adelaide based company is quietly, determinedly riding the advanced 3D manufacturing wave to expand to the lucrative defence industry markets in the United States and United Kingdom.
AML3D at Plympton uses its patented Wire Additive Manufacturing (WAM) technology which combines an electric arc with certified welding wire feedstock to metal 3D print medium to large-scale parts, much faster and with lower energy and waste than traditional methods.
AML3D’s Arcemy system combines state-of-the-art welding science, robotics and materials engineering, and is capable of 3D printing industrial-scale metal components such as propellers, pistons, gears and pulleys.
Its website notes: “AML3D has the world’s largest, open-air, production-ready, metal 3D printers commercially available on the market.”
The company opened a US manufacturing facility in Ohio last year and is now looking to double the size of the site after a series of contract wins.
These include a $9.9m deal to supply four of AML3D’s Arcemy X systems to a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries – the largest military shipbuilder in the US.
Another $2.6m contract will see it produce submarine parts for the US Navy out of Adelaide.
The company also is working with defence giant BAE in the UK so is well positioned for the massive AUKUS project as it develops.
AML3D managing director Sean Ebert said it was “early days” exploring the UK market but they have signed a $1.4m contract with BAE UK to produce prototype parts and hope this will lead to systems to go to submarine production in Barrow.
They also are working with a distributor in Scotland, all of which could lead to AML3D setting up a facility in the UK similar to the US Ohio facility.
“That would mean under the AUKUS framework we would have manufacturing facilities in Adelaide, Ohio and probably the UK,” Mr Ebert said.
He noted there is a move away from casting and forging processes because it takes so long.
“Parts for the US Navy were taking about two years due to casting, we are doing it in 16 to 18 weeks,” he said.
“Under AUKUS they are trying to increase production from 1.2 submarines a year to 2.3.”
Rear Adm. Jonathan Rucker, the US Navy’s lead buyer for attack submarines, told a House Armed Services Subcommittee hearing the Navy must 3D-print more parts if it is to build three submarines per year.
He noted 3D-printed parts are already starting to be installed on submarines and singled out AML3D for praise.
In a separate briefing to reporters, he said: “Castings [were] the bane of our existence when I talked to you two years ago – that chokepoint’s gone.”