Germany would be a better partner than Japan in the design and construction of Australia’s new submarines, says Liberal Senator for SA David Fawcett.
Fawcett, a former senior military officer, took a swipe at the recent debate on where Australia’s next generation of submarines would be built and its focus on the notion that they can be bought “off-the-shelf”.
“An inconvenient fact for some is that there is no simple ‘off the shelf’ solution that has capabilities to match Australia’s geography and alliance considerations,” Fawcett said in a statement.
“Australia will have to partner with someone (probably Germany or Japan) to modify an existing design to meet our operational requirements.”
That partnership, the Senator says, may be best developed with Germany given its track record on exporting defence technology.
“The up-side with Germany is their approach to engineering that is broadly common with Australia and their extensive experience in exporting modified designs to over 22 countries.
“TKMS (ThyssenKrup Marine Systems, Germany) stated earlier this year that they could produce 12 submarines to Australia’s requirements for a cost in the order of $20bn.
“While the Japanese Soryu Class is about the right size, it would still have to be modified to achieve the required range and to integrate the US Combat Control System and Mk 48 ADCAP torpedo.
“When this development risk is combined with the fact that the Japanese have no experience in exporting complex defence systems, the cost/risk profile of the Soryu is higher than claimed by some advocates.”
Fawcett says the Japanese option may have more to do with the US than Australia.
“The up-side with Japan is purportedly strong US support for two of its key pacific allies (Australia and Japan) to jointly develop a conventional submarine with common capabilities to integrate effectively with USN operations.
“There is no reason why a Japanese partnership couldn’t work, but it is not necessarily the cheapest or lowest risk option.”
The Future Submarines project was the focus of recent discussions between the South Australian Government and federal Defence Minister David Johnston, who maintains no decision has been made.
During the 2013 federal election campaign, the Coalition pledged to build 12 submarines in Adelaide at the Osborne-based Australian Submarine Corporation.
Fawcett rejected a report that he was luke-warm on the need for the next generation of submarines to be built in Australia.
“I am a strong advocate for building the next submarines in Australia,” he said.
“We need a submarine that meets defence needs; the Collins experience has taught us that being able to maintain them is critical, and the most cost effective way to get the submarine we need, and have the ability to maintain them, is to partner with an established submarine manufacturer to build the submarines in Australia.”
