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The ''Collins''-class submarines are Australian-built diesel-electric submarines operated by the
Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...
(RAN). The ''Collins'' class takes its name from Australian Vice Admiral
John Augustine Collins Vice-Admiral Sir John Augustine Collins, (7 January 1899 – 3 September 1989) was a Royal Australian Navy (RAN) officer who served in both World Wars, and who eventually rose to become a vice admiral and Chief of Naval Staff. Collins was one ...
; each of the six submarines is named after significant RAN personnel who distinguished themselves in action during . The six vessels were the first submarines built in Australia, prompting widespread improvements in Australian industry and delivering a sovereign (Australian controlled) sustainment/maintenance capability. Planning for a new design to replace the RAN's submarines began in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Proposals were received from seven companies; two were selected for a funded study to determine the winning design, which was announced in mid-1987. The submarines, enlarged versions of Swedish shipbuilder
Kockums Saab Kockums AB is a shipyard headquartered in Malmö, Sweden, owned by the Swedish defence company Saab Group. Saab Kockums AB is further operational in Muskö, Docksta, and Karlskrona. While having a history of civil vessel construction, Koc ...
' and originally referred to as the Type 471, were constructed between 1990 and 2003 in South Australia by the Australian Submarine Corporation (ASC). The submarines have been the subject of many incidents and technical problems since the design phase, including accusations of foul play and bias during the design selection, improper handling of design changes during construction, major capability deficiencies in the first submarines, and ongoing technical problems throughout the early life of the class. These problems have been compounded by the inability of the RAN to retain sufficient personnel to operate the submarines—by 2008, only three could be manned, and between 2009 and 2012, on average two or fewer were fully operational. The resulting negative press has led to a poor public perception of the ''Collins'' class. After 20 years of service issues, the boats have finally provided high availability to the RAN since 2016. The ''Collins'' class was expected to be retired about 2026, however, the 2016 Defence White Paper extended this into the 2030s.Department of Defence, ''2016 Defence White Paper'', pp. 91-92Greene, ''Collins Class submarine life to be extended as Defence delays roll-out of new vessels'' The ''Collins'' class life will now be extended and will receive an unplanned capability upgrade, including sonar and communications. The initial replacement for the ''Collins'' class was to be a conventionally-powered version of the
Barracuda A barracuda, or cuda for short, is a large, predatory, ray-finned fish known for its fearsome appearance and ferocious behaviour. The barracuda is a saltwater fish of the genus ''Sphyraena'', the only genus in the family Sphyraenidae, which was ...
-class SSN proposed by
Naval Group Naval Group is a major French industrial group specialized in naval defense design, development and construction. Its headquarters are located in Paris. Heir to the French naval dockyards initiated in 1631 by Cardinal Richelieu and to the Direc ...
of
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
, dubbed the . On 15 September 2021, in the face of growing delays and cost increases, the Australian government announced the cancellation of the contract with Naval Group, and that the replacement will be a nuclear-powered submarine fleet made in partnership with the United Kingdom and the United States.


Development and design

The proposal for a new type of submarine to replace the ''Oberon'' class of diesel-electric submarines began in July 1978, when the RAN director of submarine policy prepared a paper detailing the need to start considering a replacement for the ageing ''Oberon''s.Yule & Woolner, ''The Collins Class Submarine Story'', p. 26 The paper also raised the suggestion that the majority of the submarines be constructed in Australia and that the number of submarines be increased beyond the six ''Oberon''s. Building the submarines in Australia was initially met with reactions predicting an impossible task because of the poor state of the Australian shipbuilding industry, and Australian industry in general, although campaigning by several figures in Australian industry who thought it could be done came to the attention of those spearheading the project to design the ''Oberon''-class replacement, and led to the view that it was both possible and feasible. The campaign to build submarines in Australia was also met with support from the
Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms t ...
and several trade unions. The proposal was accepted by the defence operational requirements committee in August 1978, and the project was given the procurement designation of SEA 1114. Approval for the development phase of the project was given in the 1981–82
federal Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...
budget.Woolner, ''Procuring Change'', p. 3 The RAN had four main requirements: that the submarines were tailored to operating conditions in the
Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologi ...
n region, that they be equipped with a combat system advanced enough to promote a long service life, that appropriate and sustainable infrastructure be established in Australia to construct the boats, then provide maintenance and technical support for their operational lifespan, and that the submarines were capable of peacetime and emergency operations in addition to their hunter-killer role.Jones, in ''The Royal Australian Navy'', opp. p. 240 Ten submarines were envisioned, a number which was revised to between four and eight boats by the start of 1983, and later settled on the acquisition of six submarines, with the option to order two more.Jones, in ''The Royal Australian Navy'', p. 243


Requests for tenders

The development of the submarine commenced in May 1983, when the government released a
request for tender An invitation to tender (ITT, otherwise known as a call for bids or a request for tenders) is a formal, structured procedure for generating competing offers from different potential suppliers or contractors looking to obtain an award of business ...
and approached seven of the world's nine diesel-electric submarine manufacturers for submissions.Woolner, ''Procuring Change'', p. 4Yule & Woolner, ''The Collins Class Submarine Story'', p. 59 The submissions would be narrowed down to two based on the provided information, with these undergoing a funded study to determine the winning design. Tendering companies had to demonstrate how Australian industries would be incorporated into the project, and that they were willing to establish an Australia-based consortium to construct the submarines. All seven companies responded by the end of the year: the combined submissions totalling four tonnes (9,000 lb) of paper.Jones, in ''The Royal Australian Navy'', p. 244 * Directions Techniques Des Constructions Naval of France originally supplied a design modified from the , but the submission review board did not view this favourably, as the submarine was of the same vintage as the ''Oberon''s.Woolner, ''Procuring Change'', p. 5 Their submission was altered to a conventionally powered version of the ''Rubis''-class nuclear submarine. * The German companies Ingenieur Kontor Lübeck (IKL) and
Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (often abbreviated HDW) is a German shipbuilding company, headquartered in Kiel. It is part of the ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) group, owned by ThyssenKrupp. The Howaldtswerke shipyard was founded in Kiel in 183 ...
(HDW) collaborated to offer an enlarged version of the
Type 209 submarine The Type 209 is a class of diesel-electric attack submarine developed exclusively for export by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft of Germany. The original variant (Type 209/1100) was designed in the late 1960s. The class is exclusively designed for ...
, designated the Type 2000. Submarines based on the Type 209 design had been exported to several nations, but were not operated by the German Navy.Woolner, ''Procuring Change'', p. 6 * Thyssen Nordseewerke, another German company, offered their . Like the Type 209, the TR-1700 was an export-only submarine design. * Cantieri Navali Riuniti of Italy proposed a design based on their , scaled up by 25%. The age of the early 1970s design was a concern, and the proposal was withdrawn early in the process. * The Dutch partnership of United Shipbuilder Bureaux and
Rotterdamsche Droogdok Maatschappij The Rotterdamsche Droogdok Maatschappij (RDM) was the largest pre-World War II shipbuilding and repair company in Rotterdam in the Netherlands, existing from 1902 to 1996. It built 355 mostly major seagoing vessels, 18 of which were submarines. R ...
submitted the . Their offer was identical to that constructed for the Royal Netherlands Navy, minus the Dutch combat system. * Swedish shipbuilder
Kockums Saab Kockums AB is a shipyard headquartered in Malmö, Sweden, owned by the Swedish defence company Saab Group. Saab Kockums AB is further operational in Muskö, Docksta, and Karlskrona. While having a history of civil vessel construction, Koc ...
submitted the Type 471 design, an enlarged version of the operated by the Swedish Navy.Woolner, ''Procuring Change'', p. 7 * The United Kingdom company
Vickers Shipbuilding & Engineering Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering, Ltd (VSEL) was a shipbuilding company based at Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria in northwest England that built warships, civilian ships, submarines and armaments. The company was historically the Naval Construct ...
offered a design referred to as the Type 2400, that later became the ''Upholder'' class.Woolner, ''Procuring Change'', p. 8 The review board concluded that the IKL/HDW Type 2000 was the best design offered, the ''Walrus'' class was rated as 'fair', while Kockums' and Vickers' proposals were considered 'marginal' contenders. However, none of the tenders completely matched the desired RAN specifications, and the two proposals selected would have to be redesigned during the funded study. The combat data system was procured separately to the submarine design; 14 companies were identified as capable of providing what the RAN wanted, from which eight were approached in January 1983 with a separate request for tender. Five responded: a consortium led by
Rockwell International Rockwell International was a major American manufacturing conglomerate involved in aircraft, the space industry, defense and commercial electronics, components in the automotive industry, printing presses, avionics and industrial products. R ...
of the United States,
Plessey The Plessey Company plc was a British electronics, defence and telecommunications company. It originated in 1917, growing and diversifying into electronics. It expanded after World War II by acquisition of companies and formed overseas compani ...
of the United Kingdom,
Signaal Thales Nederland B.V. (formerly Hollandse Signaalapparaten B.V. or in short Signaal) is a subsidiary of the French multinational company Thales Group based in the Netherlands. The firm was founded as ''NV Hazemeyer's Fabriek van Signaalapparate ...
of the Netherlands, Sintra Alcatel of France, and a collaboration between the German Krupp Atlas Elektronik and the British
Ferranti Ferranti or Ferranti International plc was a UK electrical engineering and equipment firm that operated for over a century from 1885 until it went bankrupt in 1993. The company was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. The firm was known ...
.Yule & Woolner, ''The Collins Class Submarine Story'', p. 68 Each tender was required to offer a system with a
distributed architecture A distributed system is a system whose components are located on different networked computers, which communicate and coordinate their actions by passing messages to one another from any system. Distributed computing is a field of computer sci ...
, despite the absence of an accepted definition for '
distributed computing A distributed system is a system whose components are located on different networked computers, which communicate and coordinate their actions by passing messages to one another from any system. Distributed computing is a field of computer sci ...
' at that time, and had to show the cost of programming the software in
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, although they could offer additional cost breakdowns for other programming languages.


Funded studies

By May 1985, three months behind schedule, the review board narrowed the tenders down to two contenders in each group: IKL/HDW and Kockums for the submarine, Rockwell and Signaal for the combat system.Woolner, ''Procuring Change'', p. 9 The ''Walrus'' and Type 2400 submarine designs were considered to be too expensive to manufacture because of inefficient building practices, while the combat data system tenders had been narrowed down by unjustified development risk in the Plessey and Krupp/Ferranti proposals, and the dual problems in the Sintra Alcatel tender of excessive power usage and incompatibility with the proposed American weapons system. On 9 May, the Australian cabinet approved the selections for the funded studies and decided that six submarines would be built, with the option for two more, all in Australia.Yule & Woolner, ''The Collins Class Submarine Story'', pp. 74–5 The companies were granted funding for project definition studies, from which the final selections would be made. Liaison teams were sent to each of the four companies to observe the development of the concepts presented in the initial proposals. As part of this process, the two submarine designers were required to establish a consortium with at least 50% Australian ownership: IKL/HDW joined with Eglo Engineering to form Australian Marine Systems, while Kockums (which had originally planned to work with Eglo) became part of a joint venture with the Australian branch of Chicago Bridge & Iron,
Wormald International Wormald is an Australian fire protection brand founded in 1889. Founded as an importer and distributor of fire doors and fire sprinklers, it grew over the decades into a diversified manufacturer of steel and metal products as well as a leader in t ...
, and the Australian Industry Development Corporation to create the Australian Submarine Corporation. During the study, various accusations of foul play by or unsuitability of both submarine designers were made by Australian politicians and the media.Yule & Woolner, ''The Collins Class Submarine Story'', pp. 82–3 These included claims that the
centre-left Centre-left politics lean to the left on the left–right political spectrum but are closer to the centre than other left-wing politics. Those on the centre-left believe in working within the established systems to improve social justice. The ...
Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms t ...
(ALP) and the Swedish Social Democratic Party, both in power at the time, would lead to a pro-Kockums bias, investigations into perceived coaching of IDL/HDW representatives in the questions to be asked at an ALP Caucus briefing session on the project, and public emphasis on security incidents in both Sweden and West Germany. These incidents either lacked supporting evidence or were proven false, and were the result of the
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...
attempting to discredit the Labor government, or pro-British politicians and organisations who believed both submarines were inferior to the Vickers Type 2400 offering. The Dibb Report on the state of the Australian Defence Force was released in March 1986; it included advice that if the submarine project cost increased too much, the boats' capabilities should be scaled back to save money.Yule & Woolner, ''The Collins Class Submarine Story'', p. 97 Around the same time, Federal Treasurer
Paul Keating Paul John Keating (born 18 January 1944) is an Australian former politician and unionist who served as the 24th prime minister of Australia from 1991 to 1996, holding office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). He previously serv ...
began efforts to tighten
fiscal policy In economics and political science, fiscal policy is the use of government revenue collection (taxes or tax cuts) and expenditure to influence a country's economy. The use of government revenue expenditures to influence macroeconomic variab ...
and cut government spending across all portfolios. Consequently, despite his enthusiastic support for the project as a means to improve Australia's defence and industrial capabilities,
Minister for Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...
Kim Beazley Kim Christian Beazley (born 14 December 1948) is an Australian former politician and diplomat. He was leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and leader of the opposition from 1996 to 2001 and 2005 to 2006, having previously been a cabine ...
advised the project heads that he would not be able to secure Cabinet approval for construction of the submarines if the predicted cost "started with a 4 $4 billion.


Evaluation and final selection

The four tenders resulting from the study were submitted during October and November 1986. Although the IKL/HDW design was rated highest during the initial inspection, the evaluation team found that the German proposal was less attractive than previously thought.Yule & Woolner, ''The Collins Class Submarine Story'', pp. 102–6 Although IKL/HDW claimed that their boat could meet the RAN's performance requirements, the evaluators concluded from the information provided that doing so would require the deactivation of all non-essential and some essential systems. Conversely, Kockums' proposal conceded that they did not meet the requirements, although evaluators found that the figures failed by only narrow margins, and believed that these were conservative. The evaluation team recalculated the capability statistics for both submarines to a common baseline, portraying the predicted Australian operating conditions, which generally saw Kockums' figures revised upwards, and those from IKL/HDW downwards. This resulted in growing support for the Type 471 bid, and outcries from the IKL and HDW groups, who questioned the validity of the recalculations and if the Australian evaluators had the experience to do this correctly. Analysis of the two combat system proposals saw Signaal fall out of favour with the tender reviewers.Yule & Woolner, ''The Collins Class Submarine Story'', pp. 99, 107–8 This was primarily attributed to a cost-reducing re-design late in the process: the changes were not fully documented because of time constraints. Supporting documentation was further criticised by the reviewers for being vaguely worded and not using
milspec A United States defense standard, often called a military standard, "MIL-STD", "MIL-SPEC", or (informally) "MilSpecs", is used to help achieve standardization objectives by the U.S. Department of Defense. Standardization is beneficial in achievi ...
terminology and standards. In addition, the system proposed by Rockwell appeared to have greater performance capabilities, and would be cheaper to implement. On 18 May 1987, the Australian Cabinet approved the final design: Kockums' Type 471 submarine, fitted with the Rockwell combat system and Diesel-Electric propulsion units provided by the French engineering firm Jeumont-Schneider. The contract for construction of six submarines was signed on 3 June and valued at A$3.9 billion in 1986 prices, with allowances for inflation and the changing value of the Australian dollar.Woolner, ''Procuring Change'', p. 13 The submarine acquisition project was at the time the most expensive project ever undertaken by the Australian Defence Force, but was unseated from this title by the ''Anzac''-class frigate project a few years later.


Construction

The Australian Submarine Corporation construction facility was established on previously undeveloped land on the bank of the
Port River The Port River (officially known as the Port Adelaide River) is part of a tidal estuary located north of the Adelaide city centre in the Australian state of South Australia. It has been used as a shipping channel since the beginning of European ...
, at
Osborne, South Australia Osborne is a suburb in the Australian state of South Australia located on the LeFevre Peninsula in the west of Adelaide about north-west of the Adelaide city centre. Description Osborne is bounded to the south by the suburb of Taperoo, to ...
. Work on the site began on 29 June 1987, and it was opened in November 1989.Yule & Woolner, ''The Collins Class Submarine Story'', p. 127 South Australia was selected as the site of the construction facility based on the proposed location of the facility and promises by the State Government to help minimise any problems caused by workers' unions.Yule & Woolner, ''The Collins Class Submarine Story'', pp. 87–8, 128 The state's bid was aided by careful promotion to both Kockums and IKL/HDW during early in the project, and problems with the other states' proposals:
Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...
and
Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
lacked the necessary industrial base,
New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...
could not decide on the location of the construction facility, Victoria's proposed site was poorly sited, and building in
Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...
-led
Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...
would have been politically unwise for the project when
Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the la ...
was in power both federally and in all other states. Each submarine was constructed in six sections, each consisting of several sub-sections.Yule & Woolner, ''The Collins Class Submarine Story'', p. 147 One of the main criteria of the project was that Australian industries contribute to at least 60% of the work; by the conclusion of the project 70% of the construction and 45% of the software preparation had been completed by Australian-owned companies.Grazebrook, ''Collins class comes up Down Under'' Work was sub-contracted out to 426 companies across twelve countries, plus numerous sub-sub-contractors. In many cases, components for the first submarine were constructed by companies outside Australia, while those for the following five boats were replicated by an Australian-owned partner or subsidiary. The project prompted major increases in quality control standards across Australian industries: in 1980, only 35 Australian companies possessed the appropriate quality control certifications for Defence projects, but by 1998 this had increased to over 1,500. Although the acquisition project organisers originally planned for the first submarine to be constructed overseas, the Cabinet decided as part of the project's approval that all six submarines would be built in Australia; the increases in construction time and cost from not building the lead ship in the winning designer's home shipyard was considered to be offset by the additional experience provided to Australian industries. Even so, two sections of the first submarine were constructed by Kockums' shipyard in Malmo, Sweden.Yule & Woolner, ''The Collins Class Submarine Story'', pp. 142–4 By the end of 1990, Chicago Bridge & Iron and Wormald International had both sold their shares in ASC.Yule & Woolner, ''The Collins Class Submarine Story'', pp. 181–4 The shares were bought up by Kockums and the Australian Industry Development Corporation, with some of Kockums' shares then sold to James Hardie Industries to maintain an Australian majority ownership of the company. On 5 April 2000, the shares in ASC held by Kockums were bought out and the company was nationalised, despite a trend at the time to
privatise Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...
government-owned companies. At the end of 2003, a contract to maintain the ''Collins'' class worth $3.5 billion over 25 years was awarded to ASC. As of April 1996, the option to order the seventh and eighth submarines was still under consideration, but was looked on unfavourably by the Department of Defence at the time, as the additional cost would require the diversion of funding from the
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and
Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...
, resulting in an imbalance in the capabilities of the Australian Defence Force. The option was cancelled outright by late 2001.


Entry into service

The first submarine, , was laid down in February 1990. ''Collins'' launch was originally planned for 1994, but was later set for 28 August 1993. Although launched on schedule, she was not complete: the design of the submarine had not been finalised, important internal pipes and fittings were not installed, the components of the combat system had yet to be delivered, and some hull sections were actually sheets of timber painted black so the submarine would appear complete in photographs of the launching ceremony. Within weeks of the launch, ''Collins'' was removed from the water, and it was not until June 1994 that the submarine was completed. Progress on the other five submarines was delayed by the extra effort required to meet ''Collins'' launching date and the subsequent work to complete her. ''Collins'' was not commissioned into the RAN until 27 July 1996; eighteen months behind schedule, because of several delays and problems, most relating to the provision and installation of the combat data system software. ''Collins'' was not approved for operational deployments until 2000.Wertheim (ed.), ''Combat Fleets of the World'', p. 19 The other five submarines were scheduled for completion at 12-month intervals.Yule & Woolner, ''The Collins Class Submarine Story'', p. 188 However, the series of defects and problems encountered during
sea trial A sea trial is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). It is also referred to as a " shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on open water, and ...
s of the submarines (particularly ''Collins'') resulted in the repeated diversion of resources from those still under construction, adding to delays.Yule & Woolner, ''The Collins Class Submarine Story'', p. 215 Consequently, delivery of the submarines ran significantly behind schedule; submarines were presented to the RAN between 21 and 41 months late, and the entire class was not cleared for full operational service until March 2004, a year after the last boat was commissioned.Yule & Woolner, ''The Collins Class Submarine Story'', p. 348 These delays forced the RAN to keep several ''Oberon''-class submarines and the submarine base HMAS ''Platypus'' in service beyond their planned decommissioning dates.


McIntosh-Prescott Report and Fast Track program

Following his appointment as
Minister for Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...
following the 1998 federal election, John Moore decided that the only way to solve the various problems of the ''Collins'' class was for an independent report to be prepared on them.Yule & Woolner, ''The Collins Class Submarine Story'', pp. 274–81 He appointed Malcolm McIntosh, chief executive of the CSIRO and an unofficial advisor to Moore, and John Prescott, a former
BHP BHP Group Limited (formerly known as BHP Billiton) is an Australian multinational mining, metals, natural gas petroleum public company that is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The Broken Hill Proprietary Company was founded ...
director, to investigate the project, uncover the problems with the submarines, and suggest ways of solving them. The ''Report to the Minister for Defence on the Collins class submarine and related matters'' (commonly referred to as the ''McIntosh-Prescott Report'') was compiled in ten weeks, and released on 1 June 1999. This report concluded that the ''Collins'' class was incapable of performing at the required level for military operations.Yule & Woolner, ''The Collins Class Submarine Story'', pp. 281–2 Although the report highlighted several elements of the submarine design that performed to or beyond expectations, and acknowledged that many of the publicised problems had been or were in the process of being fixed, it presented the propulsion system, combat system, and excessive noise as ongoing problems across the class. After identifying the combat system as the central problem, McIntosh and Prescott recommended that it be scrapped entirely and replaced with a system based on commercially available equipment and software. They also claimed that these problems were caused by poor design and manufacture; inappropriate design requirements; deficiencies in the structure of the contract, particularly with regards to modifying the contract to meet changing requirements; and problems between the various parties involved in the construction of the submarines, with a lack of overall direction and conflicts of interest causing avoidable hostility and uncooperativeness. Despite the report being promoted by the government as 'ground-breaking', many people involved with the ''Collins''-class project later claimed that large sections of the report could have been copied from reports previously submitted by the RAN or ASC. The report, along with the planned December 2000 decommissioning of the final ''Oberon''-class submarine, , prompted the establishment of an A$1 billion program to bring the fourth and fifth submarines ( and ) up to operational standards, then retrofit the modifications to the other boats.Yule & Woolner, ''The Collins Class Submarine Story'', pp. 288–9 Referred to as the "fast track" or "get well" program, the program also included solving the problems preventing various parties from cooperating fully, and improving the negative media coverage and public perception of the class by responding to criticism and providing more information to reporters.


Submarines in class


Problems during construction and trials

The ''Collins''-class submarines experienced a wide range of problems during their construction and early service life. Many of these were attributed to the submarines being a new, untested design, and were successfully addressed as they were discovered. Most systems and features worked with few or no problems, while the boats' maximum speed, manoeuvrability, and low-speed submerged endurance were found to exceed specifications.Yule & Woolner, ''The Collins Class Submarine Story'', p. 217 The ship control system, which during development had been marked as a major potential problem, functioned beyond positive expectation: for example, the autopilot (which aboard ''Collins'' was nicknamed 'Sven') was found to be better at maintaining depth during snorting than most helmsmen. However, problems with the combat system, excessive noise, and engine breakdowns were recurring and appeared across the entire class. These and other shortcomings were often made harder to solve by disagreements between Kockums, ASC, Rockwell, the RAN, and the Australian Government over the nature of problems, their causes, and who was responsible for solving them. Media reporting of the problems during the mid-1990s was often negative and exaggerated, creating poor public perception.Yule & Woolner, ''The Collins Class Submarine Story'', p. 221 This was aided by politicians, who used the shortcomings to politically attack the Labor Party and Kim Beazley, particularly after Labor was defeated by the
Liberal-National Coalition The Liberal–National Coalition, commonly known simply as "the Coalition" or informally as the LNP, is an alliance of centre-right political parties that forms one of the two major groupings in Australian federal politics. The two partners in ...
in the 1996 federal election, and Beazley became Leader of the Opposition.Kelton, ''More than an ally?'', pp. 103–4Yule & Woolner, ''The Collins Class Submarine Story'', p. 266 During the mid-1990s, it was recommended on several occasions that the submarine project be abandoned, and the completed submarines and incomplete hulls be broken up for scrap. Following the ''McIntosh-Prescott Report'', which indicated the long-term faults with the class that still required solving, successful efforts were made to bring the submarines to operational standard. As part of this, a public relations plan was implemented to provide up-to-date information on the submarines to the media, to improve the public perception of the class by providing factual information on the status of the project and responding to queries and incidents.Yule & Woolner, ''The Collins Class Submarine Story'', p. 289 This same period saw the dispelling of the idea, widely held within the RAN, that the ''Collins''-class boats would be like any other vessel previously ordered by the RAN: in service with another navy, well tested, and with all the problems solved before they entered Australian hands. The RAN began to realise that as the parent navy for the class, they had a greater responsibility than normal in ensuring that the boats were at an operational standard.


Welding of ''Collins''

During assembly of ''Collins'' bow and escape tower sections in Sweden, multiple defects in the hull welding were discovered.Yule & Woolner, ''The Collins Class Submarine Story'', pp. 144–6 Different reasons were given by different parties for the problems: To speed production, Kockums employed welders who were not qualified to work on high strength steels; the Qualified Welding Procedures developed by Kockums for these steels were not followed in production; the
steel alloy Alloy steel is steel that is alloyed with a variety of elements in total amounts between 1.0% and 50% by weight to improve its mechanical properties. Alloy steels are broken down into two groups: low alloy steels and high alloy steels. The differe ...
used for the hull required different welding techniques to those normally used by Kockums; the Swedish navy always requested partial penetration welds for their submarines, while the RAN wanted full penetration welding, but had not made this clear; delays in delivering the steel plates to Kockums resulted in rushed work and a resulting drop in quality. Kockums engineers proposed that the section be kept in Sweden for repairs, but to minimise delays it was accepted as-is, with repairs attempted at ASC during full assembly of the first boat. Kockums sent welders and inspection technicians to ASC in order to assist in undertaking these repairs. However, when ''Collins'' returned to the ASC facility in April 2001 for a year-long maintenance docking, multiple welding defects were found in the bow and escape tower sections of the submarine (the two sections constructed by Kockums), while almost no problems were found in the welding of the four Australian-built sections. Repairing these welds quadrupled the time ''Collins'' spent in dock.


Noise signature

The noise made by the submarines, which compromised their ability to stay hidden, was another major problem with the design.Yule & Woolner, ''The Collins Class Submarine Story'', pp. 137–9 In the original requisition, the RAN guidelines for the noise signature of the new submarines were vague; for example, asking that they be "twice as quiet" as the ''Oberon''s.Yule & Woolner, ''The Collins Class Submarine Story'', p. 226 Expectations and operational requirements also changed between the 1987 contract signing and when the submarines began operating in the late 1990s. The major element of the noise signature for the ''Oberon'' class was machinery noise transmitted through the hull; this was successfully avoided during construction of the ''Collins'' class by mounting machinery on platforms isolated from the hull. Noise testing during 1996 and 1997 found that the hydrodynamic noise signature—the noise made by a submarine passing through the water—was excessive, particularly at high speed.Yule & Woolner, ''The Collins Class Submarine Story'', pp. 227–9 The shape of the hull was the main cause: although a scale model of the design had been tested during the funded study and was found to have a minimal signature, the hull shape was changed after the contract was signed, primarily by a lengthening of the submarine and a redesign of the bow dome to accommodate the larger-than-expected main sonar and reduce its blind spot (the baffles). The design had not been retested, as who would pay for this could not be agreed on. Propeller cavitation, caused by
water flow Environmental flows describe the quantity, timing, and quality of water flows required to sustain freshwater and estuarine ecosystems and the human livelihoods and well being that depend on these ecosystems. In the Indian context river flows requir ...
over control surfaces onto the propeller at certain speeds, was the other main noisemaker. Cavitation had not been a problem with earlier Swedish submarine designs or during early testing of the Type 471 design, but the propeller had to be redesigned late in the process to provide more power, and like the redesigned hull, was not retested.Yule & Woolner, ''The Collins Class Submarine Story'', p. 230 During the year 2000, an unusual meeting took place with a next door neighbor (Francis 'Frank' Smith) of the then HMAS ''Stirling'' Naval Base commander. He was an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (originally trained at Government Aircraft Factories Fisherman's bend) who had been aware of the fluid dynamics issues of the Collins class for some time, purely by interest and observation on television. After a lengthy discussion, he was invited to discuss and demonstrate where possible, his observations at the ''Stirling'' Naval Base with Navy and
Defence Science and Technology Organisation The Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG) is part of the Australian Department of Defence dedicated to providing science and technology support to safeguard Australia and its national interests. The agency's name was changed from Defenc ...
(DSTO) staff who were there at that time as part of an investigative group. He showed on a white board, the aerofoil issue with the Dorsal – Sail conning tower structure showing that the aspect ratio (span (height) to chord (width)) was too short and that severe turbulence / cavitation would be generated by such a design. This was demonstrated again on the white board using aircraft aerofoil wing shapes as a basis for the discussion. That the turbulence / cavitation generated would, by natural rearward flow, move down the rear upper surface deck of the hull and be drawn into the propeller. He was also able to demonstrate that the design of the bow section would not pass a flow test for generated turbulence / cavitation, with the change in shape from circular bow section to long hull, being ill-conceived. He made several recommendations during the lecture that would be cost-effective and possible. 1) To lengthen and taper the dorsal fin and create a more streamlined integration of the dorsal to flat upper Hull deck section. and 2) To 'fill in' the hollow section of hull aft of the bow curvature. Both these could be achieved with Carbon Fibre or Fibreglass covers as no load bearing strength would be required. Subsequent studies by the DSTO showed that the submarine's hull shape, particularly the redesigned sonar dome, the
fin A fin is a thin component or appendage attached to a larger body or structure. Fins typically function as foils that produce lift or thrust, or provide the ability to steer or stabilize motion while traveling in water, air, or other fluids. Fin ...
, and the rear of the submarine, focused the displaced water into two turbulent streams; when the seven propeller blades hit these streams, the propeller's vibration was increased, causing cavitation. These problems were fixed by modifying the casing of the submarine with fiberglass fairings.Yule & Woolner, ''The Collins Class Submarine Story'', p. 238


Propulsion system

During trials of the first submarines, the propulsion system was found to be prone to failure for a variety of reasons.Yule & Woolner, ''The Collins Class Submarine Story'', p. 222 Most failures were attributed to the fifteen-tank diesel fuel system: the tanks were designed to fill with salt water as they were emptied to maintain
neutral buoyancy Neutral buoyancy occurs when an object's average density is equal to the density of the fluid in which it is immersed, resulting in the buoyant force balancing the force of gravity that would otherwise cause the object to sink (if the body's densi ...
, but water would regularly enter the engines due to a combination of poor design,
gravity separation Gravity separation is an industrial method of separating two components, either a suspension, or dry granular mixture where separating the components with gravity is sufficiently practical: i.e. the components of the mixture have different specific ...
of the fuel and water being insufficient, and operator error resulting from poor training. Problems were also caused by bacterial contamination of the diesel fuel, which, along with the salt water, would cause the fuel pumps to rust and other components to seize.Yule & Woolner, ''The Collins Class Submarine Story'', pp. 222–4 The fuel-related issues were solved by installing coalescers, improving training and operational procedures, and adding biocides to the fuel. Propeller shaft seals were a significant problem on ''Collins'' and ''Farncomb''.Yule & Woolner, ''The Collins Class Submarine Story'', p. 233 Although designed to allow for a leak of per hour, during trials it was found that the seals would regularly misalign and allow hundreds of litres per hour into the boat—during one deep diving test the flow rate was measured at approximately a minute. ASC claimed that solving these problems could be done by manually adjusting the seals as the submarine dived and rose, but this would have required a sailor dedicated solely to that task, affecting efforts to minimise the required number of personnel. It was found that the problem could be temporarily alleviated by running the propeller in reverse for 100 revolutions, pulling the seal back into alignment, although a permanent solution could initially not be found, as ASC refused to accept responsibility for the problem, and the original manufacturer of the seals had closed down. New suppliers were found, with modified seals fitted to the first two submarines in late 1996, before completely re-designed seals were fitted to the boats in late 1997, solving the problem. The propellers themselves were also found to be poorly manufactured, having been shaped by hand, with at least one cast at the wrong pitch.Yule & Woolner, ''The Collins Class Submarine Story'', pp. 230–1, 238–9 This was rectified by using a five-axis
milling machine Milling is the process of machining using rotary cutters to remove material by advancing a cutter into a workpiece. This may be done by varying direction on one or several axes, cutter head speed, and pressure. Milling covers a wide variety of d ...
for future shaping work and replacing the miscast propeller. The material used for the propellers was also found to be weaker than expected, developing fatigue cracks after only a few years of use. Instead of going to Kockums, which had started to go into decline after the end of the Cold War, the submarine project office sent the propeller to the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
for redesigning. Despite the Americans fixing the problems with the propeller design, resulting in significant performance improvements, the Swedish company was dissatisfied with the Australian actions; the dispatch of the propellers was one of the points of contention in the company's legal action in the mid-2000s against the Australian government over ownership of the
intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...
rights to the submarine's design. Other propulsion problems included excessive motor vibrations at certain speeds which damaged various components (which was attributed to the removal of a
flywheel A flywheel is a mechanical device which uses the conservation of angular momentum to store rotational energy; a form of kinetic energy proportional to the product of its moment of inertia and the square of its rotational speed. In particular, as ...
and to corrosion caused by the fuel problems), and excessive fuel consumption in ''Collins'' at high speed (found to be caused by manufacturing problems with the turbines and turbochargers).Yule & Woolner, ''The Collins Class Submarine Story'', pp. 224–5 The propulsion system was also found to be a secondary source of noise: poor design of the exhaust
muffler A muffler (North American and Australian English) or silencer (British English) is a device for reducing the noise emitted by the exhaust of an internal combustion engine—especially a noise-deadening device forming part of the exhaust sys ...
s, weight-saving measures in the generator mountings, and an incorrect voltage supply to the battery compartment exhaust fans were noise-creating factors found and eliminated during studies by the DSTO. In March 2010, the Department of Defence revealed that the generators in five of the submarines were flawed and had to be replaced.Oakes, ''This time it's the generators'' The three generators aboard each of the five submarines are to be replaced in the submarines as they come in for their next maintenance docking.


Periscopes and masts

The periscopes had two problems, the first of which was shared with the other masts. They were not streamlined; raising a periscope while moving would create enough drag and
turbulence In fluid dynamics, turbulence or turbulent flow is fluid motion characterized by chaotic changes in pressure and flow velocity. It is in contrast to a laminar flow, which occurs when a fluid flows in parallel layers, with no disruption between ...
to shake the entire submarine.Yule & Woolner, ''The Collins Class Submarine Story'', p. 231 As with many elements of the submarine, there were disagreements as to who was responsible for the problem. It was solved by modifying the masts to redirect the water flow around them (for example, a spiral wrap was fixed around the head of each periscope).Yule & Woolner, ''The Collins Class Submarine Story'', p. 232 The periscopes also had problems with their optics: periscope users reported difficulty in refocusing after changing magnification, duplication of images, and bands across the field of vision. These problems were attributed to RAN demands that the optical view be the first exposed when a periscope was raised above the water, instead of placing the infrared sensor and single-pulse radar at the head as on other submarines, requiring the optical path to be routed around these components. The periscopes were gradually improved, and were no longer a problem by the time the fast track submarines entered service.


Combat system

Despite the public focus on the various physical issues with the boats, the major problem with the submarines was the development of the Rockwell combat system.Yule & Woolner, ''The Collins Class Submarine Story'', pp. 153–4 The problems had started during the funded study, when
Singer Librascope Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung accompaniment, wi ...
and
Thomson CSF Thomson-CSF was a French company that specialized in the development and manufacture of electronics with a heavy focus upon the aerospace and defence sectors of the market. Thomson-CSF was formed in 1968 following the merger of Thomson-Houst ...
, who were partnering with Rockwell to develop the combat system, refused to release their intellectual property or their software code for Rockwell to sell.Yule & Woolner, ''The Collins Class Submarine Story'', p. 98 It was proposed that Computer Sciences of Australia, a division of
Computer Sciences Corporation Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) was an American multinational corporation that provided information technology (IT) services and professional services. On April 3, 2017, it merged with the Enterprise Services line of business of HP Ente ...
and a minor partner in the consortium, take over the role of writing the software for the combat system, although this meant that Singer Librascope, which had prior experience in creating submarine combat systems, was reduced to a minor role in the project. Other major problems with the system, to which most of the later difficulties were attributed, were that the original concept was beyond the technology of the day, and that the system architecture required by the RAN was both overly ambitious and flawed. This was compounded by the rate of advancement in computer technology: equipment had to be designed from scratch and custom manufactured at the start of the project, but by the time these were installed, they were obsolete compared to commercially available hardware and software. Australian Submarine Corporation was made responsible for the delivery of the Rockwell combat system, but had little ability to enforce this. Rockwell was contracted to deliver the combat system by 9 September 1993, but was unlikely to do so.Yule & Woolner, ''The Collins Class Submarine Story'', pp. 199–200 ASC's management board voted to issue a default notice to Rockwell as the American company had defaulted on the contract, but was ordered by the Department of Defence to retract the default notice and accept gradual delivery of partially completed versions of the combat system—referred to as 'releases' and 'drops'—until the complete system had been delivered.
Sea trial A sea trial is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). It is also referred to as a " shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on open water, and ...
s of ''Collins'' were unable to commence until Release 1.5 of the combat system software was delivered; because of ongoing delays in the provision of the software, the early phases of the trials were completed using stand-alone equipment By March 1994, the combat system had become the major area of concern for the submarine project: assembly of the system was almost nine months behind schedule, and at least 20% of the software had not been compiled. The combat system continued to be a problem during the next few years, with progressive drops offering little improvements in performance over the previous version, and the completion date of Release 2—the designation for the full contractual realisation of the combat system software—was continually postponed. In 1996, Rockwell sold its military and aerospace division, including responsibility for the ''Collins'' combat system, to
Boeing The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and p ...
.Yule & Woolner, ''The Collins Class Submarine Story'', pp. 250–1 Boeing attempted to produce a workable combat system, but believed that this could only be done if the changes in technology were accounted for in a contract alteration, which the RAN and the Australian Government initially refused to do. Boeing then requested assistance from
Raytheon Raytheon Technologies Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense conglomerate headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. It is one of the largest aerospace and defense manufacturers in the world by revenue and market capitali ...
, and after further negotiations with the Government resulted in a reduction of the system capabilities, the companies were able to stabilise the system and deliver Release 2.0 at the end of 1999.Yule & Woolner, ''The Collins Class Submarine Story'', p. 260 Boeing sold its naval systems division to Raytheon in May 2000, making the latter company solely responsible for completion of the combat system. After this, the submarine project began investigating ideas for a new combat system.Yule & Woolner, ''The Collins Class Submarine Story'', p. 292 Because there was not enough time to evaluate the replacement system to include it in the "fast track" program, ''Dechaineux'' and ''Sheean'' were fitted with the old Rockwell combat system, which was enhanced by the addition of sub-systems developed during the early 1980s for the ''Oberon''-class mid-life upgrade and commercial off-the-shelf components. Even with the enhanced system, it was believed that the capabilities of the fast track ''Collins'' boats was at best equivalent to the ''Oberon''s. Lockheed Martin,
Thales Thales of Miletus ( ; grc-gre, Θαλῆς; ) was a Greek mathematician, astronomer, statesman, and pre-Socratic philosopher from Miletus in Ionia, Asia Minor. He was one of the Seven Sages of Greece. Many, most notably Aristotle, regarded ...
, STN Atlas, and Raytheon were approached to provide tenders to design and assemble a new combat system for the submarines, with all four submitting proposals during early 2000.Yule & Woolner, ''The Collins Class Submarine Story'', pp. 300–1 In May 2000, after the DSTO tested operational versions of the proposed combat software packages, the Lockheed and Thales tenders were eliminated, despite the Thales proposal being rated better than Raytheon's. After indepth testing of the remaining systems and observations of the systems in action, the German STN Atlas ISUS 90-55 aboard an Israeli ''Dolphin''-class submarine and the American Raytheon CCS Mk2 aboard a USN ''Los Angeles''-class submarine, it was decided that the STN Atlas system was the best for the class. However, political pressure from both the United States and Australia, questions about the security problems and possible leaks involved with a European combat system linked to American weapons, and desires to increase the political and military ties between Australia and the United States resulted in the cancellation of the tender program in July 2001 and the decision to enter a joint development program with the United States, with a formal agreement signed on 10 September 2001 at the Pentagon. The second combat system development program proceeded with far fewer problems, and took the tactical and fire control components from the CCS Mk2 system, and the sonar interface component from the fast track program.Yule & Woolner, ''The Collins Class Submarine Story'', pp. 307–8 The system is the AN/BYG-1 that was developed for the new USN ''Virginia''-class submarine and has since be retrofitted to the whole USN fleet.Undersea Warfare, ''Continuing Our Undersea Partnership with Royal Australian Navy'' The new combat system was installed in ''Waller'' in 2008, ''Farncomb'' in 2009, ''Dechaineux'' in 2010, ''Sheean'' in 2012, ''Rankin'' in 2014 and ''Collins'' is scheduled for 2018. The system can receive new software releases and hardware can be upgraded with new versions of the system regularly released with the version operated by a boat dependent on its fully cycle docking schedule.


Budget

Several newspaper articles and commentators have incorrectly claimed that the project ran significantly over the contract cost.Yule & Woolner, ''The Collins Class Submarine Story'', p. 324 As of the launch of the first submarine, the project cost had increased from A$3.892 billion in 1986 dollars to A$4.989 billion in 1993 dollars, which corresponded to the rate of
inflation In economics, inflation is an increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy. When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services; consequently, inflation corresponds to a reduct ...
during that period.Yule & Woolner, ''The Collins Class Submarine Story'', p. 187 By 2006, A$5.071 billion had been spent to build the submarines (excluding the fast track program); after taking inflation into account, the project had run less than A$40 million over contract.Yule & Woolner, ''The Collins Class Submarine Story'', pp. 325, 348 Of the A$1.17 billion allocated to the fast track program, only A$143 million was required to fix problems where the submarines did not correspond with the original contract: the rest was used to update components that were
technologically obsolete Obsolescence is the state of being which occurs when an object, service, or practice is no longer maintained or required even though it may still be in good working order. It usually happens when something that is more efficient or less risky r ...
and make changes to the submarines beyond the contract specifications. When the fast track program is factored in, the ''Collins'' class cost just under 20% more than the inflation-adjusted contract value; a smaller increase than other contemporary defence projects.


Characteristics

The ''Collins'' class is an enlarged version of the Kockums ''Västergötland''-class submarine. The design was referred to as the Type 471 Submarine until it was decided to name the lead boat, HMAS ''Collins'', after RAN Vice Admiral Sir John Augustine Collins. The names of the six submarines were first announced during ''Collins'' laying down ceremony: ''Collins'', ''Farncomb'', ''Waller'', ''Dechaineux'', ''Sheean'', and ''Rankin''; all named after Australian naval personnel who distinguished themselves during World War II. The ''Collins''-class submarines are classified by the RAN as SSGs, or guided missile carrying submarines, although some defence industry websites refer to the boats as hunter-killer submarines, or SSKs.''SSK Collins Class (Type 471) Attack Submarine'', naval-technology.com''Australia's Collins Class Subs'', Defense Industry Daily At in length, with a beam of and a waterline depth of , the six boats were the largest conventionally powered submarines in the world at the time of their commissioning.Saunders (ed.), ''IHS Jane's Fighting Ships 2012–2013'', p. 27 The submarines are single-hulled, and have two continuous decks. Each boat displaces when surfaced, and when submerged. The depth that the submarines can dive to is classified. Following the near-loss of ''Dechaineux'' in 2003 when a seawater hose burst during a deep dive, the diving depth was reduced. The hull is constructed from a high-tensile
micro-alloy steel Microalloyed steel is a type of alloy steel that contains small amounts of alloying elements (0.05 to 0.15%), including niobium, vanadium, titanium, molybdenum, zirconium, boron, and rare-earth metals. They are used to refine the grain microstructu ...
, developed by Swedish steel manufacturer
SSAB SSAB AB, earlier ''Svenskt Stål AB'' (English: Swedish Steel), () is a Swedish company, formed in 1978, that specialises in processing raw material to produce steel. The largest shareholders are Aktiebolag Industrivärden and the Government of ...
, and improved by BHP of Australia, which was lighter and easier to weld than the
HY-80 HY-80 is a high-tensile, high yield strength, low alloy steel. It was developed for use in naval applications, specifically the development of pressure hulls for the US nuclear submarine program and is still currently used in many naval applicati ...
or HY-100 nickel-alloy steel used in contemporary submarine construction projects, while providing better results in explosion bulge testing.Yule & Woolner, ''The Collins Class Submarine Story'', pp. 165–74 The submarines are covered in a skin of anechoic tiles to minimise detection by sonar: ''Collins'' was retrofitted with the tiles after the standard sonar signature of the submarine had been established, while the other five boats were covered during construction.Built in Australia' Collins rolls out'', Jane's Defence Weekly These tiles were developed by the Australian
Defence Science and Technology Organisation The Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG) is part of the Australian Department of Defence dedicated to providing science and technology support to safeguard Australia and its national interests. The agency's name was changed from Defenc ...
(DSTO) as the United States and United Kingdom would not share their information on the tiles used on their nuclear submarines, Australian researchers had to develop the tiles from scratch.Yule & Woolner, ''The Collins Class Submarine Story'', pp. 177–80 The tiles were moulded in the shape of the hull, and are secured by a commercial adhesive normally used to fix cat's eyes to road surfaces: although British and American submarines are often seen with missing tiles, as of March 2007, none have been lost from a ''Collins''-class boat.


Armament

The ''Collins''-class submarines are armed with six torpedo tubes, and carry a standard payload of 22 torpedoes. Originally, the payload was a mixture of Gould Mark 48 Mod 4 torpedoes and UGM-84C Sub-Harpoon anti-ship missiles; previously carried by the ''Oberon''-class boats.Grazebrook, ''RAN prepares for Collins class'' In 2006, the Mark 48 torpedoes were upgraded to the Mod 7 Common Broadband Advanced Sonar System (CBASS) version, which was jointly developed with the United States Navy. ''Waller'' was the first vessel of either navy to fire an armed Mod 7, sinking the decommissioned destroyer on 16 July 2008, during RIMPAC 08. Some or all of the torpedo payload can be replaced with up to 44  Stonefish Mark III mines. During the construction phase, consideration was given to acquiring submarine-launchable Tomahawk cruise missiles; giving the boats the capability to attack land targets after minor modifications.Grazebrook, ''Australia's Navy at the Southern Crossroads'' Plans to acquire Tomahawk or similar land-attack missiles remained under consideration until 2009, when the '' Defending Australia in the Asia Pacific Century: Force 2030'' white paper was released; stating that land-attack missiles will instead be incorporated into the armament of the ''Collins''-class replacement. The ''Collins'' class was not designed to support special forces operations providing a limited capability similar to the ''Oberon'' class.Australian National Audit Office, "2014–15 major projects report : Department of Defence"Patrick, ''Submarines and Special Forces'', p. 37. In 2005, ''Collins'' received a special forces upgrade to provide three capabilities of multi swimmer release, float on/float off and exit and reentry.Muir, ''Pacific 2008: RAN submarines: present and future capabilities'' However, there were issues with exit and reentry during sea trials. Originally only one submarine was planned to receive the upgrade. In 2014, ''Dechaineux'' was upgraded and the issue with exit and reentry was rectified. ''Collins'' is scheduled on its next maintenance docking to receive the safety upgrade for exit and reentry. However, the full special forces upgrade is yet to be reached with outboard stowage of equipment, such as for inflatable boats, still in the design phase.


Propulsion

Each submarine is equipped with three Garden Island-
Hedemora Hedemora is a town in Dalarna County and the seat of Hedemora Municipality, Sweden, with 7,273 inhabitants in 2010. Despite its small population, Hedemora is for historical reasons normally still referred to as a ''city'', and as such the oldes ...
HV V18b/15Ub (VB210) 18-cylinder diesel engines, which are each connected to a 1,400 kW, 440-volt DC Jeumont-Schneider generator. The combined electrical generation capability of each submarine is 4.2 megawatts. The Hedemora diesels were chosen because of modular construction, which made servicing easier; they could be installed three across in the available space, while other contenders required at least two banks of two; and they had
turbocharger In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pro ...
s driven by the exhaust gas. Fifteen fuel tanks are located throughout the submarine: they must be used in specific sequences to preserve the submarine's buoyancy and trim. Electricity is stored in four lead-acid battery packs, totalling 400 tonnes, assembled by Pacific Marine Batteries, a joint venture between
VARTA VARTA AG (; german: link=no, Vertrieb, Aufladung, Reparatur transportabler Akkumulatoren – ) is a German company manufacturing batteries for global automotive, industrial, and consumer markets. History VARTA was founded by Adolf Müller in ...
of Germany and Pacific Dunlop of Australia. These supply a single Jeumont Schneider DC motor, which provides 7,200
shaft horsepower Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are the ...
to a seven-bladed, diameter skewback propeller. The propeller design is classified Top Secret, and must be covered before a ''Collins''-class submarine can be removed from the water for maintenance. Emergency propulsion is provided by a MacTaggart Scott DM 43006 retractable hydraulic motor. The aft control surfaces are mounted on an X-shaped structure, giving the boats the ability to outmanoeuvre most warship and submarine classes. The ''Collins'' class has a speed of when surfaced and at snorkel depth, and can reach underwater. When travelling at , the submarines have a range of along the surface, or at snorkel depth. When fully submerged, a ''Collins''-class submarine can travel at .
Nuclear propulsion Nuclear propulsion includes a wide variety of propulsion methods that use some form of nuclear reaction as their primary power source. The idea of using nuclear material for propulsion dates back to the beginning of the 20th century. In 1903 it was ...
was ruled out at an early stage of the project, because supporting nuclear submarines without a nuclear power industry in Australia and
public opposition Public opposition describes a form of social activity that deliberately opposes establishment opinion in the public sphere in order to raise public awareness of topics, problems or social groups that appear to be neglected or oppressed. As with the ...
to such infrastructure would be extremely difficult.Skinner, ''NCSM: The Collins class submarine'', p. 30 Air-independent propulsion (AIP) was also considered for the class, and the submarines were designed to be retrofitted with an AIP system. The AIP plan was cancelled in July 1996, after it was demonstrated during sea trials that during constant operations, the boat's snorkel was exposed for only a few minutes in a 24-hour period; officials from ASC claimed that any ''Collins''-class submarine spotted while snorting would be because the boat was "dead unlucky".Lok, ''Australia rethinks AIP for Collins class boats'' Installation of AIP was not believed to provide enough of an improvement on this to justify the predicted A$100 million cost.


Sensors and systems

The main sonar array is a Thomson Sintra Scylla active/passive bow sonar, linked to a passive intercept and ranging array distributed along the flanks of the submarine; three panels on each side. ''Collins'' and ''Farncomb'' were originally fitted with Thales Karriwarra passive towed sonar arrays, while the other four boats could be fitted with the Karriwarra or Thales' Namara array. These were later replaced across the class with the Thales SHOR-TAS towed passive array, deployed through the horizontal 'pipe' at the stern. When surfaced or at periscope depth, the ''Collins''-class boats can use a
Kelvin Hughes Hensoldt UK, formerly Kelvin Hughes, is a British company specialising in the design and manufacture of navigation and surveillance systems and a supplier of navigational data to both the commercial marine and government marketplace. The company ...
Type 1007 surface search radar, which is situated in a retractable mast on the
fin A fin is a thin component or appendage attached to a larger body or structure. Fins typically function as foils that produce lift or thrust, or provide the ability to steer or stabilize motion while traveling in water, air, or other fluids. Fin ...
. Each submarine is fitted with a CK043 search periscope and CH093 attack periscope. The periscopes were manufactured by Pilkington Optronics (now
Thales Optronics Thales Optronics is a optronics manufacturer and a division of the French defence corporation Thales Group. It is headquartered in Paris. The company has three main subsidiaries: Thales Optronique SA in France, Thales Optronics Limited in the Uni ...
), and experienced several problems early in the submarines' service lives. The hardware for the original combat system was based around the
Motorola 68000 family The Motorola 68000 series (also known as 680x0, m68000, m68k, or 68k) is a family of 32-bit complex instruction set computer (CISC) microprocessors. During the 1980s and early 1990s, they were popular in personal computers and workstations and ...
of processors. The replacement combat system consists of the tactical and fire control components from the Raytheon CCS Mk2 system, combined with the sonar interfaces developed for the improved combat system used aboard ''Sheean'' and ''Dechaineux''. Countermeasures include a Condor CS-5600 ESM intercept and warning unit, and two SSE decoys. The boats are fitted with a Marconi SDG-1802
degaussing Degaussing is the process of decreasing or eliminating a remnant magnetic field. It is named after the gauss, a unit of magnetism, which in turn was named after Carl Friedrich Gauss. Due to magnetic hysteresis, it is generally not possible to red ...
system, and a receive-only
Link 11 TADIL-A/Link 11 is a secure half-duplex tactical data link used by NATO to exchange digital data. It was originally developed by a joint committee including members from the Canadian Navy, US Navy and Royal Navy to pass accurate targeting inform ...
combat information exchange datalink. In October 2006, Sagem Défense Sécurité was selected to fit the ''Collins'' class with SIGMA 40XP gyrolaser inertial navigation systems.


Ship's company

Originally, the standard complement of each submarine was six officers and thirty-six sailors, with facilities to carry an additional twelve personnel (usually trainees). This number was minimised by the RAN during design, which insisted that functions be automated where possible; the RAN also requiring that each sailor have his own rack and did not need to ' hot bunk'. It was originally intended that multiple ship's companies be established per submarine, and that these be rotated to maximise the submarines' time at sea without adversely affecting personnel, but difficulties in maintaining submariner numbers made this plan unworkable. Enlisted submariners are accommodated in six-bunk cabins.Oakes, ''Sea change: mixed bunks on subs'' In May 1997, two groups of six female sailors were posted to ''Collins'' and ''Farncomb'' to test the feasibility of mixed-sex submarine companies.Jones, in ''The Royal Australian Navy'', p. 283 Following the trial's success, eleven female sailors and one female officer commenced submarine training in 1998.Brower, ''The Enemy elow.. The Brass Above'', p. 33 Officers and senior enlisted submariners slept in mixed accommodation, but junior enlisted submariners could be deployed in groups of only six: one of the enlisted cabins was set aside, and all six bunks in the cabin had to be filled. Mixed accommodation for all female submariners was approved in June 2011, in order to increase posting opportunities and help make up shortfalls in submarine complements. During the late 1990s, a combination of low recruitment and retention rates across the RAN resulted in the number of trained submariners falling below 40% of that required.Jones, in ''The Royal Australian Navy'', p. 284 As an attempt to retain submariners, the RAN offered a one-off A$35,000 bonus in 1999. Other measures introduced around the same time included priority transfer of volunteers for submarine training and rotating submariners between sea and shore assignments to relieve them from continual sea service and prevent burnout.Yule & Woolner, ''The Collins Class Submarine Story'', p. 291 A year later, these measures had increased submariner numbers to 55% of requirements. However, the problem with submarine crewing continued; by 2008 the RAN could provide complete companies for only three of the six submarines.Blenkin, ''Navy unveils plan to boost submariner numbers'' A review by Rear Admiral
Rowan Moffitt The rowans ( or ) or mountain-ashes are shrubs or trees in the genus ''Sorbus'' of the rose family, Rosaceae. They are native throughout the cool temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, with the highest species diversity in the Himala ...
during 2008 (the ''Submarine Workforce Sustainability Review'' or ''Moffitt Report'') found that poor leadership and a culture of "mission achievement at almost any cost" resulted in submariners who were regularly stressed and fatigued from working for up to 22 hours in a stretch, under conditions worse than those experienced by the Special Air Service during the Afghanistan conflict.Pearlman, ''Subs at risk of catastrophic accident'' Submariners were also found to have lower morale and job satisfaction levels than any other position in the RAN, with these factors combining to cause a high rate of personnel burnout, while resignations meant that the average experience level in those remaining decreased.''Future Force'', Australian Warship, p. 24 The report, publicly released in April 2009, made 29 recommendations to improve conditions and stabilise or increase submariner numbers; all of which the RAN agreed to adopt.McPhedran, ''Australia's submarine fleet sinking, says RAN chief'' These measures included increasing each boat's complement to 58 to spread workload (a practice successfully employed aboard ''Farncomb'' since December 2008), reducing the length of patrols and increasing shore leave, paying bonuses for submariners who remain in the submarine service for at least eighteen months, and providing internet access aboard the submarines. A dedicated recruiting program was also suggested, promoting the submarine service as an elite unit, and targeting RAN personnel aboard surface ships, former submariners whose civilian jobs may have been affected by the
global financial crisis Global means of or referring to a globe and may also refer to: Entertainment * ''Global'' (Paul van Dyk album), 2003 * ''Global'' (Bunji Garlin album), 2007 * ''Global'' (Humanoid album), 1989 * ''Global'' (Todd Rundgren album), 2015 * Bruno ...
, and submariners in foreign navies. The program was successful; by June 2010, three expanded ship's companies were active, while a fourth was undergoing training.Oakes, ''Navy fears being left high and dry by resources boom'' By December 2012, the fourth company was active, and was preparing to bring a submarine out of deep maintenance in 2013.


Sustainment, maintenance and upgrade

The sustainment, maintenance and upgrade of the submarines is undertaken by the platform system integrator, ASC Pty Ltd, in conjunction with the Australian Submarine Enterprise, made up of the Department of Defence, Raytheon Australia (combat system integrator) and the Royal Australian Navy. ASC is also responsible for supply chain management, carries out in-service rectification tasks and is also the design authority for the submarines, with the ability to assess and action changes to the platform design. Under the RAN's revised usage-upkeep cycle each submarine spends ten years on operations and two years in deep maintenance at ASC's facility in Osborne, South Australia. During a submarine's ten-year operational period it undergoes regular planned maintenance activities at ASC's Western Australian operations at Henderson, adjacent to Fleet Base West. These include 12-month-long mid-cycle docking and several shorter duration maintenance activities. ASC and the Submarine Enterprise manages the upgrades to the Collins capability under the Collins Continuous Improvement Program (part of Defence procurement project SEA 1439). The sustainment, maintenance and upgrade of the ''Collins''-class fleet underwent a Federal Government-commissioned root-and-branch review from 2011 by Dr John Coles, and major reforms were instituted in the following years, including an innovation program across deep maintenance operations at ASC in Osborne. ASC later was recognised by Engineers Australia with an award for the innovation and effectiveness of its improvements to Collins sustainment. The result of the system-wide reform by the Submarine Enterprise has been a "dramatic turnaround" in submarine availability for the RAN and the ''Collins''-class program performing as an "exemplar". The latest review by Dr Coles found that ASC and the Submarine Enterprise were achieving submarine sustainment and availability at or exceeding international benchmarks.


Operations and deployments

The entire class is based at , also known as Fleet Base West, which is located on Garden Island, off the coast of Western Australia. The decision to locate all six submarines at ''Stirling'' was prompted by the lack of suitable long-term facilities on the east coast of Australia (although individual submarines can use
Fleet Base East The Fleet Base East is a Royal Australian Navy (RAN) major fleet base that comprises several naval establishments and facilities clustered around Sydney Harbour, centred on HMAS ''Kuttabul''. The Fleet Base East extends beyond the borders of ' ...
in Sydney Harbour as a forward staging facility), and the proximity to Australian offshore interests, including most of the nation's external territories, the oil and natural gas resources of the North West Shelf, and the Indian Ocean
sea lines of communication Sea lines of communication (abbreviated as SLOC) is a term describing the primary maritime routes between ports, used for trade, logistics and naval forces. It is generally used in reference to naval operations to ensure that SLOCs are open, or in ...
, through which the majority of Australia's seaborne trade passes. The submarines' primary missions are patrolling the waters of Australia and nearby nations, and gathering intelligence through the interception of electronic communications by foreign nations and the deployment/retrieval of special forces operatives.Fowler, ''Are leaky Collins class subs all washed up?''


Operational history

Two boats, including ''Waller'', reportedly operated in support of the
International Force for East Timor The International Force East Timor (INTERFET) was a multinational non-United Nations peacemaking task force, organised and led by Australia in accordance with United Nations resolutions to address the humanitarian and security crisis that took ...
(INTERFET) in 1999 providing an escort for transport ships and monitored Indonesian communications.Hyland, ''Arms race' leaving our subs all at sea'' Navy clearance divers who infiltrated into the Oecussi Enclave to conduct a covert beach reconnaissance ahead of an amphibious landing were reportedly inserted from ''Waller''. During several multinational exercises and wargames, the ''Collins'' class has demonstrated its effectiveness in the hunter-killer role by successfully attacking both surface warships and other submarines.Thompson, ''Lessons not learned'', pp. 26–8 In late May 2000, ''Waller'' became the first Australian submarine to operate as a fully integrated component of a USN
carrier battle group A carrier battle group (CVBG) is a naval fleet consisting of an aircraft carrier capital ship and its large number of escorts, together defining the group. The ''CV'' in ''CVBG'' is the United States Navy hull classification code for an ai ...
during wargames.Yule & Woolner, ''The Collins Class Submarine Story'', pp. 295–6 ''Waller''s role was to search for and engage opposing submarines hunting the aircraft carrier , a role in which she performed better than expected. A few days later, as part of the multinational exercise
RIMPAC RIMPAC, the Rim of the Pacific Exercise, is the world's largest international maritime warfare exercise. RIMPAC is held biennially during June and July of even-numbered years from Honolulu, Hawaii, with the exception of 2020 where it was held ...
2000, ''Waller'' was assigned to act as an 'enemy' submarine, and was reported to have successfully engaged two USN nuclear submarines before almost coming into attacking range of ''Abraham Lincoln''.Woolner, ''Getting in Early'', p. 22 ''Waller'' performed similarly during the Operation Tandem Thrust wargames in 2001, when she 'sank' two USN amphibious assault ships in waters just over deep, although the submarine was 'destroyed' herself later in the exercise.Thompson, ''Lessons not learned'', p. 28 ''Waller''s second feat was repeated by ''Sheean'' during RIMPAC 02, when the boat was able to penetrate the air and surface anti-submarine screens of an eight-ship amphibious task force, then successfully carry out simulated attacks on both the amphibious assault ship and the dock landing ship . Later that year, during two weeks of combat trials in August, ''Sheean'' demonstrated that the class was comparable in the underwater warfare role to the ''Los Angeles''-class nuclear-powered attack submarine .Nicholson, ''Collins sub shines in US war game'' The two submarines traded roles during the exercise and were equally successful in the attacking role, despite ''Olympia'' being larger, more powerful, and armed with more advanced torpedoes. In 2003, a ''Collins''-class boat carried out successful attacks on two USN nuclear submarines and an aircraft carrier during a multinational exercise. The repeated successes of the class in wargames and multinational exercises earned the ''Collins'' class praise from foreign military officers for being "a very capable and quiet submarine", and recognition of the boats as a clear example of the threat posed to navies by modern diesel submarines. On 12 February 2003, ''Dechaineux'' was operating near her maximum safe diving depth off the coast of Western Australia when a seawater hose burst.Australian Associated Press, ''Navy forced to reduce subs' diving depth'' The high-pressure seawater flooded the lower engine room before the hose was sealed off: it was estimated that if the inflow had continued for another twenty seconds, the weight of the water would have prevented ''Dechaineux'' from returning to the surface. The RAN recalled the ''Collins''-class submarines to base after the incident; after engineers were unable to determine any flaws in the pipes that could have caused the incident, the maximum safe diving depth of the class was reduced. On 10 June 2005, ''Rankin'' became the first submarine since in 1987 to receive the
Gloucester Cup The Gloucester Cup is the common name for three awards of the Australian Defence Force officially called the Duke of Gloucester's Cup, the three awards are presented to the most proficient ship of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), infantry battali ...
, an award presented to the RAN vessel with the greatest overall efficiency during the previous year.Davidson & Allibone, ''Beneath Southern Seas'', p. 204 The award was subsequently presented to ''Sheean'' in 2006, and again to ''Rankin'' in 2008. In March 2007, ''Farncomb'' had an emergency when crew were washed overboard while attempting to remove fishing line from the propeller. The boat was reportedly conducting surveillance on Chinese Navy submarines in the South China Sea. In 2008 and 2009, personnel shortages reduced the number of submarines able to be deployed to three; the maintenance cycles of ''Sheean'', ''Rankin'', and ''Dechaineux'', and problems with ''Collins'' and ''Waller'' further reducing this to one, ''Farncomb'', in mid-2009.Oakes, ''Two subs out of action for 9 years'' ''Farncomb'' was docked for repair after a generator malfunction in February 2010, by which point ''Collins'' and ''Waller'' were active (the former on limited duties because of defects), and ''Dechaineux'' was slated to re-enter service by May 2010. Workforce shortages and malfunctions on other submarines during the preceding two years impacted heavily on the maintenance of ''Sheean'' and ''Rankin'', with RAN and ASC officials predicting that they would not be active until 2012 and 2013, respectively. In June 2011, ''
The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...
'' newspaper claimed despite two submarines (''Waller'' and ''Dechaineux'') designated as operational, neither was in sailable condition. The initial findings from the Coles Review revealed significant, systemic problems with the submarines and noted the need for their management to be reformed. A 2014 statement by Vice Admiral
Ray Griggs Vice Admiral Raymond James Griggs, (born July 1961) is an Australian senior public servant and a former senior officer in the Royal Australian Navy. He served as Chief of Navy from June 2011 to June 2014, before being appointed Vice Chief of ...
indicated that up to four submarines had been operational on most occasions since 2012.


Replacement

The submarines originally had a predicted operational life of around 30 years, with ''Collins'' to decommission around 2025.Coleman, ''More problems with Collins class submarines'' The Submarine Institute of Australia released a report in July 2007 arguing that planning for the next generation of Australian submarines had to begin soon.Stewart, ''Defence to reach new depths'' In December 2007, shortly after the
2007 federal election This electoral calendar 2007 lists the national/federal direct elections held in 2007 in the de jure and de facto sovereign states and their dependent territories. Referendums are included, although they are not elections. By-elections are not ...
, the Australian government announced that planning for a ''Collins''-class replacement (procurement project SEA 1000) had commenced. The 2009 ''Defending Australia in the Asia Pacific Century: Force 2030'' white paper confirmed the replacement project, and announced that the submarine fleet would be increased to twelve vessels to sustain submarine operations in any conflict, and counter the growing potency of Asian-Pacific naval forces. The 2009 white paper outlined the replacement submarine as a 4,000-ton vessel fitted with land-attack cruise missiles in addition to torpedoes and anti-ship missiles, capable of launching and recovering covert operatives while submerged, and carrying surveillance and intelligence-gathering equipment.Nicholson, ''Sub fleet carries $36b price tag: experts'' The project initially had four options: a Military-Off-The-Shelf (MOTS) design without modification, a MOTS design modified for Australian conditions, an evolution of an existing submarine, or a newly designed submarine.Kerr, ''Sea 1000'' Nuclear propulsion was ruled out because of the lack of nuclear infrastructure and public opposition to nuclear technology.Kerr, ''Australia tests the water for its largest-ever defence procurement challenge''ABC News, ''New subs unlikely to go nuclear: ADA'' Designs initially considered for purchase or modification included the Spanish , the French-designed , the German-designed
Type 214 The Type 214 is a diesel-electric submarine developed by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft GmbH (HDW). It features diesel propulsion with an air-independent propulsion (AIP) system using Siemens polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) hydrogen fuel ...
, and Japan's , along with an evolution of the ''Collins''. There were long delays in organising the replacement project. Originally, preliminary designs were to be established for selection by 2013, with detailed design work completed by 2016. However, meetings to clarify concepts and intended capabilities did not occur until March 2012, and initial design phase funding was not approved until May 2012, pushing construction start out to 2017.Offices of the Prime Minister, Minister for Defence, and Minister for Defence Materiel, ''Next stage of future submarine project announced'' By November 2014, initial capabilities still had not been decided on, with recommendations to be made across 2015. The best case prediction for seeing the first new submarine enter service, made in 2012, was "after 2030", with the lack of decision making partly attributed to politicians fearing being held responsible for a repeat of the issues surrounding the ''Collins'' class. Throughout 2014, there was increasing speculation that the ''Sōryū'' class (or a derivative) was the most likely candidate for the replacement. Defence technology sharing deals between Japan and Australia, along with the loosening of Japanese defence export restrictions, were seen as preliminary steps towards such a deal. The close personal relationship between the then-Australian Prime Minister
Tony Abbott Anthony John Abbott (; born 4 November 1957) is a former Australian politician who served as the 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. Abbott was born in Londo ...
and Japanese Prime Minister
Shinzō Abe Shinzo Abe ( ; ja, 安倍 晋三, Hepburn: , ; 21 September 1954 – 8 July 2022) was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 20 ...
was also cited as a factor in the likeliness of such a deal. In response to the rumours of the Japanese deal, unsolicited proposals were made by
ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems of Germany (often abbreviated TKMS) is a group and holding company of providers of naval vessels, surface ships and submarines. It was founded when large industrial conglomerate ThyssenKrupp acquired Howaldtswerke-Deuts ...
(its
Type 216 submarine The Type 216 is a submarine design concept announced by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft based on the Type 212/ 214. Development The design is double hulled with two decks, includes a fuel cell, Permasyn motor, and lithium-ion batteries. It is a ...
concept),
Saab Saab or SAAB may refer to: Brands and enterprises * Saab Group, a Swedish aerospace and defence company, formerly known as SAAB, and later as Saab AB ** Datasaab, a former computer company, started as spin off from Saab AB * Saab Automobile, a fo ...
(an enlarged version of the
A26 submarine The ''Blekinge''-class submarine is the next generation of submarines developed by Kockums for the Swedish Navy, also known as the A26 type. First planned at the beginning of the 1990s, the project was called "''U-båt 2000''" and was intende ...
), and
Thales Thales of Miletus ( ; grc-gre, Θαλῆς; ) was a Greek mathematician, astronomer, statesman, and pre-Socratic philosopher from Miletus in Ionia, Asia Minor. He was one of the Seven Sages of Greece. Many, most notably Aristotle, regarded ...
and DCNS (a diesel-electric variant of the Barracuda-class submarine). In January 2015, a three-way "competitive evaluation process" between the Japanese proposal, ThyssenKrupp's plan, and the Thales-DCNS offer was announced.Australian Broadcasting Corporation, ''Submarine program: Japan, France, Germany to compete for build process; Government promises hundreds of local jobs'' A 2012 study of the ''Collins'' class concluded that the submarines' lifespan could be extended by one maintenance cycle (seven years) to cover any capability gap, with lead submarine ''Collins'' to be retired in the early 2030s. On 26 April 2016, Prime Minister
Malcolm Turnbull Malcolm Bligh Turnbull (born 24 October 1954) is an Australian former politician and businessman who served as the 29th prime minister of Australia from 2015 to 2018. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. Turnbull grad ...
announced the Shortfin Barracuda by French firm DCNS as the winner. On 15 September 2021, news came out that, following the signing of a new trilateral security partnership named
AUKUS AUKUS (, ) is a trilateral security pact between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, announced on 15 September 2021 for the Indo-Pacific region. Under the pact, the US and the UK will help Australia to acquire nuclear-powered ...
between Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom, which would include alignment of technologies, the troubled ''Attack''-class programme would be cancelled, with Australia instead investing in the procurement of new nuclear-powered submarines, which would incorporate existing American and British technology.


See also

*
List of submarine classes in service The list of submarine classes in service includes all submarine classes currently in service with navies or other armed forces worldwide. For surface combatants, see the list of naval ship classes in service. Ballistic missile submarines C ...


Citations


References


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External links


Virtual Fleet
– Virtual tour of RAN warships, including the ''Collins'' class submarine.
Submarine Names
– RAN webpage providing histories of the six personnel the submarines are named after. ;Reviews and reports

– the 1999 report by McIntosh and Prescott on the state of the ''Collins'' class project.
A brief on the issues arising from consideration of the requirements for a future submarine capability for Australia
– the 2007 report by the Submarine Institute of Australia which prompted the commencement of the ''Collins'' class replacement project.
Submarine Workforce Sustainability Review
– declassified text of the 2008 review by Moffitt on providing ship's complements for the ''Collins'' class submarines. {{DEFAULTSORT:Collins Class Submarine Submarine classes