Collins-class submarine replacement project
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Builders: | |
| Operators: |
 Royal Australian Navy
|
| Preceded by: | Collins class |
| Cost: | A$50 billion (2016) |
| In commission: | ≈2030s–2050 |
| Building: | 0 |
| Planned: | 12 |
| Completed: | 0 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Diesel-electric attack submarine |
| Displacement: | 4,500 t surfaced |
| Length: | 97 m (318 ft) |
| Beam: | 8.8 m (29 ft) |
| Propulsion: | pump-jet |
| Speed: | In excess of 20 kn (37 km/h; 23 mph) |
| Range: | 18,000 nautical miles (33,000 km; 21,000 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced |
| Endurance: | 80 days |
| Complement: | 60 |
| Sensors and processing systems: |
AN/BYG-1 combat system |
| Armament: | Mark 48 MOD 7 heavyweight torpedo |
The Future Submarine Program (SEA 1000) is a future class of submarines for the Royal Australian Navy based on the Shortfin Barracuda proposal by French shipbuilder DCNS to replace the Collins-class submarines. The class will enter service in the early 2030s with construction extending into the late 2040s to 2050. The Program is estimated to cost $50 billion and will be the largest, and most complex, defence acquisition project in Australian history.
The Program to replace the Collins-class began in 2007 with the commencement of the Defence Department acquisition project SEA 1000. Australia's unique operating environment (including significant variations in ocean climate and conditions) and rejection of nuclear propulsion had previously driven it to operate in the Collins-class the world's largest diesel-electric submarines, capable of transiting the long distances from HMAS Stirling to their deployment areas.
In the early phases of the replacement project, four design options were identified: purchase a Military-Off-The-Shelf (MOTS) design, modify a MOTS design for Australian conditions, design an evolution of the Collins-class, or create a new design. Nuclear propulsion has been ruled out due to the lack of an indigenous nuclear industry in Australia and public opposition to nuclear technology.
In 2009, the Australian Government's Defence White Paper announced that a class of twelve submarines would be built. The selected design was to be built in Australia at the ASC Pty Ltd shipyard in South Australia, but, if a company other than ASC was selected to build the submarines, they would be granted access to the government-owned facility. Concept work was to start in 2009, with a winning design to be identified by 2013 and design work to be completed by 2016, enabling the construction of the first submarine to be completed before 2025. However, there were significant delays in implementing the project, with meetings to define intended capabilities not occurring until 2012, which pushed the start of construction beyond 2017.
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