Page 60 - Australian Defence Magazine Nov 2020

60 C4I SUBMARINES
NOVEMBER 2020 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
Stage One of the project went through government Second Pass approval ahead of Stage Two and is an ob- solescence update of the submarines’ legacy communica- tions centre. While it doesn’t confer additional capability as such, it provides an update of the radios and mes-
have seen it decoupled from the initial implementation of Sea 1439/5B2 Stage One and it is being implemented in conjunction with Stage Two.
The implementation of the rest of the Stage One began some time ago and the fourth submarine to be updated, HMAS Waller, is currently undergoing sea trials following her full-cycle docking in Adelaide. It was intended to also complete the EW system upgrade in time for Waller to be- gin her sea trials, but this has been further delayed by the travel restrictions imposed by COVID-19 and will now be completed when the submarine returns to WA.
Stage Two of Sea 1439/5B2 will upgrade the subma- rine’s Wideband Satellite Communications system, to a dual-band system which incorporates both Wideband Global Satellite (WGS) communications the Advanced EHF wideband capability provided through US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) arrangements.
Another element of this second stage is the implemen- tation of the Submarine Local Area Network Environ- ment (SUBLANE) which will deliver an integrated De- fence ICT, including the Defence Protected Network and Defence Secret Network capability onboard the subma- rines. HMAS Waller is also the first submarine to have the Stage Two equipment installed.
“THE GOVERNMENT HAS DETERMINED THAT THE CORE BYG-1 COMBAT SYSTEM AND THE MK.48 HEAVYWEIGHT TORPEDO WILL FORM THE CORE OF THE ATTACK CLASS COMBAT SYSTEM AND ITS MAIN ARMAMENT.”
sage handling equipment in the comms centre. This project fol- lows the earlier Sea 1439 Phase B1, which introduced the Lock- heed Martin Sipican OE538/BRC Multi-function Communication Mast Antenna System.
A further element is the up- grade of the microwave Electronic Warfare system, from the legacy CS5600 system to the L3Harris ES3701 microwave electronics system (MWES) system also fit- ted to Navy’s Anzac class frigates and Hobart class DDGs. This up-
grade is being conducted in partnership with the Mari- time Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance and Electronic Warfare System Program Office (ISREW SPO), however delays associated with the program
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