Combet defends submarine plans

With the Collins submarines in strife again, junior defence minister Greg Combet has
defended plans to build the next generation of subs in Australia.
Mr Combet said the 2009 Defence White Paper plan for the acquisition of a new
submarine fleet to replace the Collins vessels from 2025 had sparked heated debate.
Opening the Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) symposium at the
Pacific 2010 maritime conference in Sydney on Wednesday, he said the acquisition
strategy for the new submarines had not yet been finalised.
"On the back of the Collins project, which experienced cost and schedule over-runs,
as well as some well-publicised technical difficulties, we have been criticised for
undertaking another potentially developmental project," he said.
The Collins submarine project, launched in 1987, was regarded as extremely ambitious
because Australia had never before constructed a submarine.
The project experienced extensive technical problems, delays and cost blowouts which
until recently appeared fixed.
A series of recent breakdowns and maintenance issues means just one of the six
vessels is available for operation.
Defence Minister John Faulkner, addressing the conference earlier on Wednesday,
admitted the Collins submarines had turned into a significant challenge for defence.
Mr Combet, Minister for Defence Personnel, Materiel and Science, said DSTO had
learnt invaluable lessons from its long involvement with the Collins project which
could be applied to the next generation of submarines.
He said the government had a range of procurement options including buying an
existing design constructed offshore, opting for a completely new design or going
with an evolution of the Collins design.
Mr Combet said there were important reasons why the government was examining the
feasibility of designing and constructing submarines in Australia.
That included creating a domestic industry capable of building vessels meeting
specific Australian requirements which were likely to remain in service to 2070.
"The future submarine has the potential to be the most complex and expensive defence
procurement in Australia's history, particularly if the government decides to push
the technological envelope with regard to its capability, where Australia would be
blazing a trail in conventionally-powered submarine technology," he said.
"We must not underestimate the significant challenges that this would present us."