The AIP could be another point of interest for Canberra. When the Collins-class was first commissioned, there was much debate around whether they should be fitted with Kockum’s Stirling engine, and the boats were actually equipped to be retrofitted with AIPs. In the end, technical difficulties and costs resulted in the AIP not being fitted.
People at the time (The Oberon replacement selection team) would think the above only covers part of the story. Australia looked at how they would use the new submarine--indiscretion rates and all that--and decided that AIP wasn't worth the trouble.
Also re: AIP, the Oberon submarine replacement selection team which gave us the Collins were pretty smart. They down-selected the Germans who were confident that they met all the requirements. The Germans did not. They made assumptions of how they used submarines and not how the customer (Australia) used submarines. They were punished appropriately in the scoring process.
Also this is odd:
Installing these on the Collins’ could not only make the subs quieter, but provide valuable training for the future replacements.
AIP doesn't automatically make a sub quieter. Wonder where he got that idea?
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