Page 70 - Australian Defence Magazine October 2019

PACIFIC
ATTACK CLASS
Attack class
Plan of action
ALL being well, the first-of-type will eventu- ally be launched in 2030 and undergo har- bour acceptance trials. These will be followed by 18 months of contractor sea trials, includ- ing a docking period if required, that will cul- minate in delivery to the RAN in 2032.
This does not mean the first of the 4,700-tonne so-called Future Submarines will then be combat-ready.
Up to three years of rigorous test, evalu- ation and fine-tuning will follow until the boat is assessed as ready for its full range of operational tasking and able to replace one of the RAN’s six ageing Collins-class submarines.
The completion date for the 12th and final Attack-class boat will depend on the drumbeat of construction but is expected to be in the 2050s, although build could be accelerated contingent on future re- quirements and capabilities.
Any delivery rate must not only match the RAN’s ability to crew the new boats, but also slot into the long-term rolling ac- quisition naval shipbuilding program to ensure there is no unintended gap between completion of the Attack-class and work starting on the class’s replacement.
That milestone will mark the end of an extended acquisition program costing an estimated $50 billion that will have in- cluded combat system development and equipment, land-based test and integra- tion, science and technology, training systems, infrastructure, and integrated logistic support. A further $50 billion (on a constant price basis) is anticipated for sustainment costs through to 2080.
Historical timeline
The Sea 1000 program should have begun, some believe, in 2005 to achieve the in-ser-
JULIAN KERR | SYDNEY
Ten years after the intention to replace
and double the size of Australia’s submarine fleet was disclosed in the 2009 Defence White Paper, construction of the first of 12 conventionally-powered Attack-class boats under Project Sea 1000 is set to begin in 2023.
70 | October 2019 | www.australiandefence.com.au