All six of the Australian Navy’s Collins-class submarines will be completely rebuilt to extend their life for another decade, according to a report in The Australian newspaper. Defence Minister Peter Dutton will order the whole Collins fleet to undergo the major life-of-type extension, doubling the initial Defence plan to extend just three boats, as a hedge against the fact that the first of 12 new French Attack-class submarines is not due to enter service until 2035, the paper reported. The plan, which will cost up to $10 billion, aims to guarantee that the submarine fleet does not fall below six boats into the future. However the slow delivery of the new French boats means the navy will not achieve its aim of having a fleet of 12 submarines until the 2050s.
The move to refurbish the Collins fleet was criticised by Australia’s Shadow Minister for Defence Brendan O’Connor. “With the Future Submarine program in shambles, and half the world’s submarines expected to be in the Asia-Pacific region by 2035, the Morrison government has been forced to finally make a decision extending the life of the Collins Class submarines. The government was advised in December 2013 that the Collins Class needed their life extended to avoid a capability gap, and a decision on this matter needed to be made by mid-2015.
“It’s taken six years and eight defence ministers for the government to make a decision on the Life of Type Extension on the Collins Class submarines. We welcome this belated decision, but you don’t get to make a virtue of filling a capability gap you created,” O’Connor said. “Given the woeful track record of this government, how can we possibly believe they will deliver any new plan? Now it seems the cost has blown out by at least $4 billion. The public estimate, revealed in Senate Estimates, was this would cost $3.5-$6 billion. The government needs to confirm this cost blow out and explain why. This is on top of the $40 billion blow out of the Future Submarines, which won’t be in the water until 2035.”
O’Connor said the government doesn’t “get to boast about increased defence spending when it’s due to cost blow outs and mismanagement. There are also 700 workers on the Collins Class submarines in South Australia who have been waiting for an answer on the location of Full Cycle Docking, an announcement that was promised by the end of 2019. These workers need to know whether their jobs will be moved to Western Australian, and not left in limbo by this government. As prime minister and treasurer, Scott Morrison is the common thread with the bungling of these contracts and blow outs of costs and timelines. Australia can’t afford another three years of a Morrison Government that delays important national security decisions.”
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As the old saying goes ‘people in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones’.
Let’s not forget the six years the ALP was in Government, late 2007 to late 2013, not one single ship, or submarine, was ordered.
They did nothing except run down defence, spending was down to approx 1.3% of GDP in the last year of the Rudd/Gillard/Rudd Governments.
Whenever anyone wants to talk about delays with replacing Collins with Attack, don’t forget the ‘six lost’ years.
Couldn’t agree more – it was a dreadful period for Defence that did lasting damage.
On top of upgrading the Collins class, I would give serious consideration to cancelling the final three Attack class submarines in favour of the near term acquisition of three Type-216 submarines that could be built in Germany rapidly and for a fixed price, and if ordered today, could likely all be delivered by 2025-2027. Existing Attack class submarine program would still continue unchanged.
That’s one possible solution, but I think a better one would be the Saab-Kockums A26 expeditionary submarine currently being evaluated by the Netherlands Navy. It’s basically an evolved Collins class. I find it outrageous that no one in the RAN or Defence has even bothered speaking with the Dutch about a potential combined acquisition, as was confirmed last week in Senate Estimates.
The choice of the French submarines I thought was “interesting madness” given that the Helicopter choice was a political/ military/economic disaster.
Why do it again?
It appears that the helicopter choice was fundamentally a political one not a military one at all. Was the choice for the submarines really another stupid political one?