Unusually, we can start with two pieces of positive news. On August 22, Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy announced that the government will spend $850 million on a factory in Newcastle that will produce Naval Strike Missiles and Joint Strike Missiles. These come from Norwegian company Kongsberg and will drastically improve the anti-ship capabilities of the ADF. This follows a decision to also manufacture GMLRS rounds locally for Army’s HIMARS launchers. After a slow start the GWEO is developing some momentum.
On the next day, Defence Minister Richard Marles opened Hanwha’s armoured vehicle centre of excellence near Avalon airport. It will build Huntsman 155mm Self Propelled Howitzers and tracked Redback Infantry Fighting Vehicles – another positive for Australian manufacturing. Finally, the 3-way technology sharing agreement between the US, UK and Australia is already showing some major deficiencies. No surprise there.
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Speaking truth to power and asking uncomfortable questions is always an unpopular endeavour, but criticism is a sign you are on the right track. Admirals, Generals and bureaucrats all dislike people questioning their supposed wisdom. You are one of the very few holding them to account.
Keep up the good work Kym.
They will never admit it, but they need you to keep them honest.
Thanks for the feedback. Plenty more uncomfortable questions to come.
So now Marles has confirmed RAN is willing to accept GPFs off the shelf so to speak, can one of your uncomfortable questions include WHY (according to Paul Keating’s 2023 revelation to the National Press Club) Albanese ignored Macron’s follow-up offer to deliver fixed price SSN Barracudas to RAN from 2034?
State of the art automation has SSN Barracudas operated by Collins size crew in far greater comfort, thus less fatigue. The Barracuda’s reactor (which will only take 7 days to refuel, every ten years) requires just 5% enriched uranium as opposed to the weapons grade 85-90% required by US-UK reactors. Use of Low Enriched Uranium reactors would circumvent China’s protests alongside regional & domestic tensions re nuclear proliferation and would put disposal-storage on par with that required by nuclear medicine. SMX Ocean, an SSK design variant of Barracuda offers a VLS which could increase an SSN Barracuda’s payload to 34 weapons, just 3 less than a Blk 4 Virginia. Marles’ confirmation that RAN is now open to operating varied combat & weapons systems begs the question, why are Australian taxpayers being forced to fork out billions for a non binding agreement to POSSIBLY crew and maintain half life USN Virginias, when Australia could DEFINITELY have its own brand spanking new fleet of Barracuda SSNs requiring half the crews, far sooner, for less ?
And while you’re at it, whilst the NSM appears to be very capable, it does NOT deliver the Long Range Strike capacity Marles’ feeble mantra of ‘Impactful Projection’ alludes too, so is Australia’s reach destined to depend entirely on 200 odd LRASM & Tomahawks ?
The situation regarding the GPF is bizarre – and as the transcript shows, I’m not making any of this up. You are absolutely correct about the Barracuda and LEU.
Mike Sierra. The Barracuda’s with civilian grade reactors are an excellent choice for all the reasons you laid out. If it was just a question about submarines that would have been done by now. But this all reaks of politics and pork barreling rather than actually about capability. US bases, US manufacturing monetary support and British and Australian manufacturing as well. I want an independent Australia who remains a strong friend of our allies. It would seem others want something else and real Defence be damned.
As I have written on many occasions, no one in Defence bothered looking at the Barracuda seriously because they were so excited by the chance to return to the Anglosphere via AUKUS. Two sets of coat tails to hang onto! I suspect that the Barracuda outperforms both the Virginia and Astute classes in a couple of key areas. Critics of Barracuda say that because it uses LEU it has to be refueled every 10 years or so. But so what? The reactor cores could be stored in Australia and the submarine is out of the water anyway for a full cycle docking.
Precisely Kevin L
First up let me say that your Podcasts are something I look forward too and often inspire me to troll the news networks for more information. The news about the NSM/JSM facility as well as news that the GMLS is finally moving is some welcome news as is the Hanwha Facility opening. I find it hard to believe that the GPF will be accepted as is, being totally unable to work with the Fleet we have, and sincerely hope the Minister’s answers are more to do with him just not knowing but at this point nothing would surprise me. The news about the ITAR restrictions being loosened and the “You can have what ever you want as long as we don’t want to give it” Clauses doesn’t come as a surprise to me and look forward to hearing more. As for the Sth Korea issue, I honestly can’t understand what the problem is. Unless there is some secret document that states we can’t have something if the U.S. won’t let us have it, I can see no reason not to look at another supplier( it’s simple business practice). Sth Korea has a multitude of systems and equipment that would fit our requirements that the U.S. won’t or can’t supply. As for the comments from other readers,reference the Barracuda, it’s what I’ve said all along. We’d already had spent Millions on an Australianised Non Nuclear version so it seemed obvious that (once the decision to go Nuclear was made) just rework it back to the original design. If I seem negative or sceptical at times about the DoD and it’s processes, I apologise but 30 years of experience with them has left me disappointed. Keep up the good work Kym, your publication is the one bright light we have.
Thanks for the feedback. Regarding those recent big events with a focus on Australian production, the two companies – Kongsberg and Hanwha – don’t actually come from any of the Five Eyes countries. It’s proof that we don’t have to reflexively run to the US anytime we want something made here.
No your correct , Neither Hanwha or Kongsberg are members of the 5 eyes Countries…( something I already knew) so thats what, two products out of how many …..
Kym, I find it fitting that Andrew Fowler, the journo whose 2013 4 Corners episode ‘Reach for the sky’ exposed the myriad of defects plaguing the F-35, has now released ‘Nuked’, a book detailing the sabotage of RAN’s Attack Class Barracuda.
Thought you and your listeners may be interested in his interview.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHW_U5QEzWg