Page 111 - Australian Defence Magazine Dec21-Jan22
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TACTICAL WATERCRAFT TO SERVE AND PROTECT
THE SENTINEL ADVANTAGE
tralia’s history – at least in terms of de- fence – occurred on 16 September with the Prime Minister’s decision to terminate the Attack-class submarine (Sea 1000) contract with France’s Naval Group and instead pursue options for a British or US nuclear-powered boat. An 18-month study will now be undertaken to decide the best way forward.
The Prime Minister promised the new submarines – either British Astute-class, or US Virginia-class boats – will be built in Adelaide, with the first ‘in the water’ by 2040. However, when the recently-appoint- ed Chief of Nuclear-Powered Submarine Task Force, Vice Admiral Jonathan Mead was asked what the PM meant by ‘in the water’ during the recent Senate Estimates hearing, he could not provide an answer: “I can't interpret what the Prime Minister meant by 'in the water'. He made that an- nouncement, so it's not for me to indulge myself on whether that is trials or fully operational,” he testified. “But that is the right-hand marker. It is our intent over the next 18 months to work with the US and the UK to identify what the earliest time- line is in which we can have nuclear pow- ered submarines delivered to Australia.”
The decision not to proceed with Sea 1000 also has major implications for Navy’s current Collins-class diesel submarines and, as Julian Kerr explains in a more detailed account of the Senate Estimates hearing on page 26 of
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