Page 94 - Australian Defence Magazine Dec19-Jan20

94 PROJECTS MARITIME
DECEMBER 2019 – JANUARY 2020 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
Also included are enhancements to the torpedo self-defence system and the Nulka active missile decoy capability, installation of Link 22, engine modifications, and improve- ments to lighting, ventilation and sewage systems and to the ship con- trol and monitoring system.
END OF AN ERA
The last two of the RAN’s six Ad- elaide-class guided missile frigates were paid off in the course of the year, HMAS Newcastle in June, and HMAS Melbourne in October.
Following the retirement of the last of the three Perth-class guided missile destroyers in 2001, the Adelaides provided the fleet’s principal air warfare capability until the arrival of the AWDs.
Originally equipped with a sin-
gle Mark 13 launcher for SM-2
missiles, four of the class subse-
quently received the addition of an eight cell Mark 41 ver- tical launch system for Evolved Seasparrow missiles in the course of a lengthy and expensive upgrade. The two oldest Adelaides, Canberra and Adelaide, were decommissioned in 2005 and 2008 to partially offset that cost.
be necessary to extend their life until after deliveries of the 12-strong Attack-class begin in the mid-2030s.
ATTACK CLASS
As of December nearly 500 personnel, including 40 Austra- lians, were working with French designer and shipbuilder Naval Group in Cherbourg on the Attack class’s prelimi- nary design, which at present envisages a length of about 95 metres, diameter of about eight metres, and a dived dis- placement of about 5,000 tonnes.
A further 220 staff in the CASG Future Submarine pro- gram office were involved not only in overseeing design ac- tivities but also in development of the new Osborne North submarine construction yard, procurement, and prepara- tions for training and technology transfers into Australia.
Rear Admiral Greg Sammut, General Manager Subma- rines within CASG, said in October that relatively mature technologies are being introduced to derisk the perfor- mance of the Attack class.
Unsurprisingly, as the program progresses Defence is fielding increasingly detailed questions on issues ranging from cost and Australian Industry Capability (AIC) to battery technology (the debate between current lead acid and future ready Li-Ion) and the construction schedule.
RADM Sammut has confirmed this involves a nominal drumbeat of one boat every two years, with three boats in build at any one time, and the first due in service about 2032.
This means the 12th and final boat will not be delivered until about 2050, presenting an obvious challenge to a de- cades-long program in ongoing future- proofing and main- taining superiority over regional counterparts. ■
ABOVE: The LHDs have reached FOC after a big year on exercise and operations.
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“COMPREHENSIVE UPGRADES TO ALL SIX OF THE COLLINS- CLASS – THE EXTENT OF WHICH HAS YET TO BE DETERMINED – MIGHT BE NECESSARY TO EXTEND THEIR LIFE UNTIL AFTER DELIVERIES OF THE 12-STRONG ATTACK-CLASS BEGIN IN THE MID-2030S.”
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In November the RAN’s two Canberra-class Landing Heli- copter Docks (LHDs) achieved Final Operating Capability (FOC) following the completion of commercial negotiations on the remediation of faulty pro- pulsion pods and the successful deployment of both ships in Ex- ercise Talisman Sabre 2019.
UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY
In the sub-surface sector, Thales UK completed delivery of the first replacement bow so- nar array (destined for HMAS
Waller) as part of the Collins Sonar Capability Assur- ance Program (CSCAP). A further five shipsets of the new modular cylindrical array (MCA) will be delivered over the next five years, replacing the legacy Scylla cy- lindrical array that has been in service since the 1980s.
The new array is based on Sonar 2075 ‘thin bow array’ technology already embodied in the UK Royal Navy’s As- tute-class nuclear attack submarines.
The CSCAP program also covers the replacement of the existing Collins-class flank array with a new-generation flank array from Thales France.
Chief of Navy Vice Admiral Mike Noonan stated in Feb- ruary that comprehensive upgrades to all six of the Collins- class – the extent of which has yet to be determined – might
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