- The Strategist - https://www.aspistrategist.org.au -
The strange submarine saga: nuclear-powered poser
Posted By Graeme Dobell on September 14, 2020 @ 06:00
Although I try to take an interest in these things, I really don’t know why Australia needs submarines. What—exactly—do we want them for? I really don’t know. We’re spending at least $100 billion (probably more) on something which somebody like me has no idea what it’s for. I’ve been keeping an eye on the literature. This matter—i.e., what we actually get from the submarines—doesn’t seem to be explained. I guess I’m slow, right? But my bet is that I’m not the only one.
Submarines are fundamentally important to our defence strategy. They are a unique—and powerful—deterrent to any adversary, and they are critical to protecting our national security interests. Submarines secure Australia’s strategic advantage—through leading-edge surveillance and the protection of our maritime approaches.
Our sophisticated level of interoperability with the United States is a critical aspect of our submarine operations in our region. As are our air warfare destroyers and also anti-submarine warfare frigates. Submarines are also the vanguard of strategic lethality and deterrence. With substantial firepower, with stealth, with endurance and also with sustained presence.
Our regionally superior Collins-class submarines are already very capably demonstrating all of these effects. We will see further refinements to our future Attack-class submarines—ones that will strengthen our capability to maintain peace and security in our region.
Australia having the power to deploy this capability, with its lethality, a long way from our shores is the single biggest question mark that we can place in any adversary’s mind. So, when we buy a submarine, we buy that question mark. They are a powerful deterrent. And more than any other military platform that Australia has today, submarines can shape our strategic circumstances in a way which empowers our nation and gives Australia sovereignty.
In the Abbott government’s discussions about getting the best possible submarine for Australia as quickly as possible, we more or less assumed that our (currently limited) nuclear engineering capacity precluded that option.
Creating a nuclear industry to service subs here would take a decade, perhaps more, yet might turn out to be a lesser challenge than designing and building a new class of submarine almost from scratch. Within the 15-plus years that it’s currently planned to take to get even the first of our new conventional subs into service, we could develop a nuclear servicing capability—and if we were to buy or lease a US submarine it could initially be supported at the American bases in Guam and Hawaii.
In the 1960s, we relatively swiftly developed a civilian nuclear capacity, mainly for medicine, centred on the Lucas Heights facility in Sydney. So it can be done if the will is there.
The US already provides Australia with its most advanced aircraft and tanks and its most sophisticated submarine torpedo weapons system. The US has previously provided Britain with its most sensitive nuclear submarine technology …
We have nothing to lose from starting a discussion on this issue with our allies and friends—Britain and France—as well as primarily with the US.
There’d be no point in us having a nuclear navy if it wasn’t completely sovereign and able to be operated by, and at the direction of, the Australian government. That means the submarines and their nuclear power plants would have to be maintained in Australia.
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[1] episodes: https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/the-strange-submarine-saga-how-did-we-get-there/
[2] five: https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/the-strange-submarine-saga-vital-yet-vexed/
[3] part: https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/the-strange-submarine-saga-the-industry-policy-puzzles/
[4] series: https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/the-strange-submarine-saga-son-of-collins-to-son-of-collins/
[5] Linda Reynolds: https://www.minister.defence.gov.au/minister/lreynolds/speeches/speech-australian-strategic-policy-institute
[6] Richard Marles: https://www.richardmarles.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/20.08.04-ADDRESS-TO-THE-NATIONAL-PRESS-CLUB.pdf
[7] writes: https://www.hardiegrant.com/au/publishing/bookfinder/book/a-bigger-picture-by-malcolm-turnbull/9781743795637
[8] Abbott: https://www.cis.org.au/commentary/articles/transcript-the-hon-tony-abbot-mp-submarines-why-settle-for-second-best/
[9] cousin to the French Barracuda: https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/france-launches-first-nuclear-powered-cousin-of-rans-new-submarines/
[10] Scott Morrison described: https://www.pm.gov.au/media/address-launch-2020-defence-strategic-update