My take on the Collins Class Submarine Replacement Project

There’s a degree of cynicism surrounding the government’s Competitive Evaluation Process(CEP) for the future submarine project. That’s to be expected; the process was forced upon the government in the turmoil of an internal leadership contest after all. Be that as it may, it would be a mistake to dismiss the CEP as a smokescreen for a preconceived outcome. Even if the government wished otherwise, the process took on a life of its own from the moment it began and since then the politics of the issue have shifted against a foreign build.

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The question that nobody has the courage to ask is as follows. Why isn't Australia pursuing a indigenous submarine design? This question helps to frame my response to Mark Thompson 's piece. In this article I will make a broad argument for Australia replacing the Collins Class Submarines with a home grown design.

The RAN's submarines operational requirements are unique. A conventional submarine that has to travel long distances undetected to operational areas. Reducing the amount of time it takes the RAN's submarines to reach their operational areas is paramount. By reaching their operational areas quicker they will be able to spend more time on station. The RAN would also be able to react quicker to any unexpected events in Asia. I will come back to this later on.

I will touch upon a few matters of importance that I would like to the reader to consider. In the 1960's JFK committed the USA to putting a man on the moon by the end of the decade. JFK never lived to see the fulfilment of his vision in Neil Armstrong taking his first his steps on the moon.

In my view it was JFK underlying patriotism that was behind his rallying call, for his country to race the Soviets to the Moon. From his patriotism came his supreme belief that his country would win the race to the moon. The moon landings saw the USA win the Cold War Space Race.

For a moment I would like to compare Tony Abbott to John F Kennedy. Sure it is easy for Abbott to have his Photo taken in the cockpit of a RAAF F-35. Such a gimmick is usefully politically because it makes Abbott look like a strong Conservative Prime Minster.

Abbott has failed one of the examinations that are determining his qualities as the Prime Minster of Australia. IMO Abbott is a unpatriotic sell out when stood next to JFK. Nobody and I mean nobody , who believes in his or her country would have been so keen to out source the Collins Class Submarine replacement project.

Coming back to the matter at hand. So what can Australia gain from a indigenous submarine design? Well just like how the Apollo Program generated technological spin off's ,so could the future of Australian ship and submarine building. The only way Australia could miss out on technological spin off's entirely is if the Anzac Class Frigates and Collins Class Submarine replacements are built entirely off shore.

Regardless of the design of submarine providing some of construction work is done locally the opportunity will exist to modernise the Australian shipbuilding industry. Once 3D Printing has been demonstrated as a viable proportion doors will be opened for its wider adoption across the private sector.

One advantage of an indigenous design would be that the design parameters could be set above and beyond the capabilities of any conventional submarine currently in service with navies around the world. Meeting the design parameters could require the same levels of research and development that NASA employed in the years leading up to Apollo 11. This is how Australia pursuing a indigenous submarine design could be akin to the Apollo program.

What technological breakthrough's would be confined to indigenous submarine design? And what technological spins off would cross over into civilian life? Improving battery technology is beneficial to Submarine design. Crossing to civilian life wouldn't it be nice if your smart phone battery life was around 2 weeks? (Note to the reader the example of battery tech is an educated guess on my part.)

Now I know the reader is screaming that classified military secrets rightfully shouldn't be in the public domain. To answer this point I will use the example of GPS. The US military enjoys a better level of access to GPS then everyone else. In some cases technological systems can serve both military and civilian purposes nicely.

Now I shall return to the depths of submarine design. Specifically propulsion and halving the amount of travel time to operational areas. Increasing underwater speed without sacrificing stealth would be one of the many engineering challenges in creating a next generation submarine design. Improving on existing technologies like Air Independent Propulsion would take side alongside the development of completely new ones.

Australia has a unique opportunity to design and build the next generation of conventional submarines. By doing so Australia could influence the course of conventional Submarine design. A historical parallel is how HMS Dreadnought (1906) revolutionised warship design. All existing pre-Dreadnought designs of larger warships were made obsolete over night.

I dare say that history will look very unfriendly upon Australia if the opportunities I have covered in this article go to waste.