Release
Submarines for Australia - Submarines for Australia
12 Dec 2018 2:03 PM
SUBMARINES
FOR AUSTRALIA
Media
Release
Four senior retired naval officers, all with substantial submarine related experience, have called on the government to inject some competition into the SEA 1000 acquisition program for Australia’s future submarine.
Currently the government is negotiating with the French
company Naval Group to build 12 Short Fin Barracuda submarines for the RAN at a
cost of $50 billion with delivery extending into the 2050s.
In a letter to the Prime Minister, the
Admirals expressed their “profound concern about a lack of submarine capability
in the future, as well as the excessive costs and risks of the program”.
“We are strongly of the view that the government should
evaluate a second option. … The alternative option, that we believe could be
cheaper, quicker, less risky and offer a greater level of Australian industry
participation and sovereignty, is to build an evolved version of the Collins
class,” the Admirals said.
Speaking on behalf of the group, Rear Admiral
(retired) Peter Briggs AO CSC said that Australia’s six Collins class submarines are now performing at a very high level
but that they are reaching the end of their design lives. “The evaluation of an alternative approach
based on an evolved Collins platform
would come at a low cost without impeding progress with the current project.”
“Since 2009 the government has recognised the
need to greatly enhance the Navy’s submarine capability,” Admiral Briggs said.
“But on the basis of the present program, the first new submarine won’t be
operational until the late 2030s. With Australia’s strategic circumstances
becoming ever more threatening and with the risks involved in the current approach,
we need to develop a Plan B while at the same time not doing anything to slow
down the existing project.”
Admiral Briggs stated that most countries
evolve a new class of submarine from an existing platform because of
significantly lower risk. “A concept design has already been produced by SAAB
Kockums and we believe an Evolved Collins
submarine could offer a capability comparable to the Short Fin Barracuda. ASC
in Adelaide has developed substantial experience in building and sustaining the
Collins platform with an extensive
Australian supply chain and high local content.”
“For an outlay of just 0.1% of the program
budget for the future submarine, we propose that the government establish a
Preliminary Design Study of an Evolved Collins
platform. As well as providing a serious option at a low cost, this approach
would also have the benefit of introducing some much needed competition into
what is, by a fair margin, Australia’s biggest ever defence project.”
“The Study would be undertaken separately
from the current process with Defence,” Admiral Briggs said. “Within two years,
the government could make a fully-informed decision between two options for the
future submarine on the basis of the criteria of capability, cost, delivery,
risk and the level of Australian content.”
Contact: Rear Admiral Peter Briggs, 0401 004
688