Australia’s strategic circumstances are unique, but so are those of Singapore, India, Japan and every other nation. That does not mean that our next submarine platform needs to be entirely unique though. As I have stated, the Australian submarine capability is vested in more than just the platform, so even with an existing design the capability would remain unique and would be superior to other similar platforms if supported in superior ways. For example, if we are able to retain the Mk48 Mod 7 torpedo (in my mind the best torpedo available) we could operate a similar submarine to our adversary and still have a clear advantage. Additionally, a cheaper initial build and sufficient funds for through-life upgrade and sustainment is better than a more expensive platform which we can’t afford to service or upgrade. We don’t need the best submarine money can buy but rather the best submarine capability we can afford.
Many of the arguments supporting the unique requirements for our future submarine focus on long duration patrols, extended ranges, and lengthy covert ocean transits. Whilst a scenario can be created to necessitate this, you can’t let one extreme and hypothetical situation define the reality of our future. I do not believe an SSK significantly larger than Collins is possible, much less a good idea. There will always be some missions that can’t be achieved, let’s focus our solution on the ones which can.
H/T-Bushranger
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