ON August 28, 1993, Paul Keating launched the first Collins-class submarine. The fanfare was impressive. Led by the ABC, the media hailed the event as a triumph. But it was a hoax.
Steel plates were timber painted black. The engine had never been tested in salt water. The pipe fabrication was not finished. Nor was the design of the vessel itself. And the combat system didn't work. As the champagne bottle cracked, the gleaming submarine posed a greater threat to Australia's taxpayers than to its enemies.
Had Keating been the director of a listed company, the stunt would have landed him in hot water. Instead, the experience left a legacy of distrust about defence programs. Now a series of reports, all issued late last year, suggest that distrust is still merited.
Friday, January 13, 2012
Collins sham points to enemy within
More of the usual. This article notes that there is little justification to believe what Defence and politicians say when they want to build 12 home-grown boondoggles with no credible skills to back up the effort.
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9 comments:
Almost as bad as the Canadian fiasco of buying 4 used British diesel subs which we call the Victoria class. We paid $750M for junk then spent another $750M for re-furb only to have them in dry-dock most of the time due to electrical problems, corrosion and a host of other problems.
Given that Australia and Canada have massive oceanic frontiers both countries should only be operating nuclear submarines. Oh, there's that dreaded word again, "nuclear". The purpose of a sub is to remain undetected, i.e. below water.
I would saying buying or leasing US Virginia class subs would be the best way to go.
Perhaps if Australia and Canada can get over the whole "no nukes" thing they could carry out a joint buy of 10-12 Virginias which along with the US annual buy would further reduce costs?
Nah that makes to much sense.
I remember researching the Upholder class subs when talks about purchasing them had just began. Even then it was clear that they had been lemons from the get-go, and that the claim that they had been mothballed primarily due to an RN doctrinal move to an all nuc UK sub force was BS. They never worked, and I suspect that the palm greasing so characteristic of UK arms export (See BAE Systems and Saudi Arabia/Austria...) had more to do with their selection than any military qualities...
That said, I don't believe that Canadian sovereignty demands are so pressing as to require the massive expenditures it would take to purchase and operate a nuclear sub fleet. There are a number of excellent SSKs available with AIP systems that could handle Arctic patrols during most of the year. For a LOT less money.
JRL
It seems that Virginias currently run at about $2.5B US. Add in the extras for the traditionally inevitable 'Canadianization' nonsense and the usual cost over-runs, and you're probably looking at about $11-13B for a fleet of four. Not to mention the type-specific infrastructure systems that would also have to be purchased and maintained. And for what?
Not gonna happen...
JRL
Before Australia can have nuclear power, the Australian people will need to be won over.
Politically it would be suicide. I remember the 2007 election ads with Kevin Rudd highlighting Howard's investigation into nuclear power and adamantly stating that Labor will never persue nuclear options.
Here's a slide that's shows what Auzzie land is up against in it's back yard.
http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2011/01/%7E/media/Images/Reports/2011/01/KeyAsianCharts2011/asia_handbook_submarines_600.ashx?w=600&h=870&as=1
That's not "what Auzzie land is up against in it's back yard.", that's just a chart showing the sorts and numbers of subs owned by nations that happen to share the same quarter of the globe as Australia.
And it certainly isn't a compelling argument for spending tens of billions of dollars on the latest American SSNs...
JRL
The sub count is changing fast Vietnam has agreed to buy six Kilo-class diesel-electric submarines from Russia and South Korea is building three submarines for the Indonesian navy, both announced in Dec 2011 not to mention ship and fighter orders. South East Asia will be a very different place at the end of this decade.
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