There has been quite a bit of news about AUKUS Pillar One based on the visit to Australia of a Royal Navy aircraft carrier and a couple of Ministers. Apparently there’s going to be a 50-year treaty about the AUKUS submarine between our two countries, with the document soon to be tabled in Parliament. This is probably because we can’t get a treaty with the US, so let’s have one with the UK instead – but it’s strategic nonsense and all of the talk of industrial cooperation are just empty words. We buy a lot from the UK and in return they buy nothing from us.
Turning to the US, in testimony to the Senate, incoming Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Daryl Caudle has expressed doubts about the ability of industry to produce enough Virginia class submarines for their own needs, let alone Australia’s. This information will of course be ignored by our government because it doesn’t suit their warped view of reality. And SEA 3000 is reaching a crucial point with the possibility of a winner being selected in the next few days. Assuming that the competition is genuine, it’s not helpful that plenty of Australian commentators are telling Japan that they have it in the bag.
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Not just ‘the Primes’. Australian Small-Medium Enterprises (SME), eg. Cirrus Realtime Processing Systems and Acacia Systems were major contributors to the original Collins-class ‘fast track’ CMS augmentation program for HMAS HMAS Sheean and HMAS Dechaineux.
Fair point. I mentioned only the larger players.
The issue with the size of the SSN AUKUS is the VLS that will be incorporated, coupled with the Nelson age thinking of most Admirals “Bigger is always Better”. The AUKUS discussion seems to be wether the U.S. can or will sell us Virginia Class Submarines.All the talk seems to be overlooking the one of the obvious drawback to the Project. Simple mathematics says that we don’t have the numbers to Crew them. A Collins has a crew of around 90, a Virginia has a crew of around 130 and given that the RAN can only has enough qualified crews to Man 3 Subs ( maybe 4 at a pinch ) that’s a serious shortfall. So to Crew all three Virginia’s is going to take the entire RAN Submarine Service ( crews ). I’m well aware that probably only one Virginia will be Station at a time but that’s a serious lack of sailors.
You are absolutely correct on the issue of crewing. I haven’t yet seen an estimate for the crew size on the proposed AUKUS SUB, but it will almost certainly be greater than for a Virginia. Someone has to operate all those extra systems they are hoping to stuff into the thing.