The recent advice from the chief of Australia’s navy that the first Shortfin Barracuda may not come into service until the mid-2030s is sobering news given Australia’s deteriorating strategic circumstances and the critical role the …
In part 1, I posed the question of what, conceptually, the life-of-type extension (LOTE) for the navy’s Collins-class submarines is. Is it simply an obsolescence-management program, allowing the Collins to degrade more or less gracefully …
My recent study, Thinking through submarine transition, examines the long journey from Australia’s current submarine capability consisting of six Collins-class submarines to its future capability to be provided by 12 Shortfin Barracudas. I argue that …
The many submariners dismayed over decades by claims that their Australian-built Collins-class boats are ‘dud subs’ may ultimately be vindicated by the appearance of a sophisticated, long-range ‘Son of Collins’. Swedish industrial giant Saab now …
My previous post on the future submarines talked about having a Plan B in case the project runs into insurmountable problems. In his response, Jon Stanford seconded the need for an insurance policy. So on …