Australia’s Nuclear-powered Submarines

AUSTRALIA’SAUSTRALIA’S NUCLEAR-POWEREDNUCLEAR-POWERED SUBMARINESSUBMARINES

HMS Ambush.There will be no need to refuel throughout the life of the boats allowing significant savings to be achieved with this component of the industry ashore, both here and abroad.

Los Angeles-class attack submarine (rear),USS Albuquerque (SSN 706), and HMAS Rankin, offWestern Australia on 4 March 2015.

Virginia-class attack submarine USS Mississippi (SSN-782). W ithout any doubt the recent announcement by the Australian Government that the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) would acquire nuclear-powered submarines was a most important national defence decision. Since this broader AUKUS statement was made, the Government has launched the 18-month long process to determine which of two submarine designs, the British Astute Class, or the AmericanVirginia Class of nuclearpowered boats, would be the most suitable for operations in the Indo-Pacific regions.But before that major declaration can be made the possibility that the RAN could lease one or two older nuclear boats needs to be decided.

Australia would need to acquire these older generation boats either as alongside training vessels based at Fleet Base West, and/or for short training cruises in Australia ’ s southwestern waters to ensure the correct levels of training are undertaken in time for the delivery of the first new-construction nuclear powered boat, scheduled for the late 2030s. The Royal Navy (RN) still operates a few of their earlier generation Trafalgar Class, which are being progressively replaced by the more capable Astute Class, with seven of the latter planned for commissioning by 2026.

Alternatively, the United States Navy (USN) continues to operate many of its older Los Angeles-class nuclear submarines, as their new fleet ofVirginia-class boats continue to enter service.At the time of writing 28 Los Angeles Class remain active,working alongside 19Virginiaclass boats.Furthermore,two of the former are employed as moored training ships.The RAN has a long history of operating loan submarines. Between 1949 and 1969 the Royal Navy based varying numbers of its A and T-class boats in Australian waters.Three of the former, and seven of the latter, were in use across those years, operating mainly from Sydney Harbour.

UK vs USA

After examining the construction timelines for Britain ’ s Astute Class and America ’ sVirginia Class, it is readily apparent that the former takes a great deal longer to build compared with theVirginia Class. Positioning new RAN nuclear submarines into theVirginia-class construction lines would also be much faster, with the UK’ s Scottish shipyard having just begun the building of four new Dreadnought-class nuclear powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs),as well as finalising the completion of the three remaining Astute-class boats. In addition, the RN only recently announced its plans to begin design work on the follow-on boats to the Astute Class.And like the RN, the USN has also started work on the first of its twelve new-generation Columbia-class SSBNs.

Loan boat options

So what options could be available to the RAN to secure a nuclear powered submarine earlier? Option one is a boat from the Royal Navy. However,with its small submarine force the UK would be unwilling to loan one of the new and highly expensive Astute-class boats, while one of their older Trafalgar-class units would most probably need refuelling again if one such boat could be loaned to the RAN. In the case of the USN, there is no real opportunity for Australia to secure aVirginia-class SSN, all of which are earmarked to replace the older Los Angeles Class.The USN’ s remaining Los Angeles-class boats are being progressively retired from the active fleet, and in September 2021 another unit, USS Providence (SSN719), ended her final voyage when she arrived at Bremerton,WA,to begin the inactivation process.

Highlighted across various Government interviews following the initial AUKUS notice was the desire to acquire some second-hand boats as a lead-in to the eventual commissioning of the eight planned new-construction submarines. Assuming that there will be more possibilities to acquire such a second-hand vessel from the USN than the RN, it is presumed that discussions will take place between the two navies to confirm an opportunity to acquire such a boat for training purposes, and if that vessel has only two years of reactor life remaining, it could then be ‘traded-in ’ for another submarine with a similar limited lifespan. Some critics may claim this to be a messy solution,but the need to start and then maintain the required level of training aboard nuclearpowered boats would at least be up and running.

Other considerations

With a significant number ofVirginia-class submarines already active in the Pacific Ocean the RAN would be able to secure a larger number of cross-training days with the USN boats, participate in the existing RAN and USN exercises, including RIMPAC, and provide homeport facilities to the American units. This compares to the occasional deployment of one Astute-class boat to south-east Asia, either alone or part of a larger Royal Navy task group,like the recent HMS Queen Elizabeth deployment to the region.

However, looking at the larger crews required for theVirginia Class compared with the Astute Class, a decision to acquire the USN submarines would significantly increase each of the new boat’ s through-life costs. Furthermore, the current submarine force of 900 personnel would need to be increased to about 2300, quite a jump in numbers for any medium sized navy like the RAN. In late 2021 Australia had just a handful of submariners who had experience in nuclear-powered boats.

Building the boats

To ensure the RAN can place its first boats into service within a reasonable (and earlier) timeframe,a sensible decision would be to order the first pair from the UK or American yard, this being dependent on whether a suitable slot to start construction could be identified without slowing the host-nation ’ s own submarine delivery schedule.As these two boats are in the process of building,Australian shipbuilders would work alongside their AUKUS counterparts to prepare the work force to begin local construction in Port Adelaide early in the next decade.

An international navy

After many decades operating mainly British designed ships, the Australian Fleet shifted to a number of American classes of warships (DDG and FFGs), then to Sweden for the Collins-class submarines; to Spain for the two Canberra-class amphibious ships and three Hobart-class guided missile destroyers; to Germany for the twelve new Arafura-class offshore patrol vessels; locally for Austal’ s six E-Cape-class patrol boats; and back to the United Kingdom for the design of the nine new Hunter-class guided missile frigates to be built in South Australia. So, depending on which nuclear powered submarine design is selected, the Navy will again turn to the USA or UK.

Facilities

Facilities for the care and maintenance of nuclear submarines would require a huge investment, as would the upgraded security and safety considerations.Would the planned nuclear boats been homeported to just one base, most probably HMAS Stirling (FBW) or would a new purpose-built facility be part of these future plans? Currently in-service routine maintenance for Australian Fleet units is spread across several major locations; Garden Island in Sydney with the Captain Cook Graving Dock, the shiplift at Rockingham inWestern Australia, and the upgraded facilities in South Australia.

Nuclear visits

Many nuclear-powered submarines have visited various Australian naval bases over almost 60 years. Most of these have been HMAS Stirling in Western Australia, but during the 1950s through to the 1970s, also the ports of Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Darwin and Hobart. The most recent took place from 29 October when HMS Astute berthed at HMAS Stirling in Rockingham,Western Australia.The submarine has been part of the UK Carrier Strike Group deployment to the Indo-Pacific which had recently exercised with a range of RAN units alongside numerous engagements with regional partners. Commenting at the arrival of Astute,Australian Defence Minister Peter Dutton said: “I want to pay attribute to the Chief of Navy, Vice-Admiral Mike Noonan, for his work and for his leadership within Navy.As we know, the Government’ s made a commitment to at least eight nuclear-powered submarines and that work is being overseen by the Chief of Navy.It is a very significant bolstering of the Collins Class, which is best-in-class at the moment,but we need an additional capability, particularly in 2030s and 2040s,and that will be a nuclear-powered boat because of its stealth capability and because we want to continue that regional superiority which we have with the Collins Class at the moment.We cancelled the (Attack Class) contract because the advice to us was that that boat was not going to be sufficient for our needs to keep our country safe into the 2030s,2040s and beyond, and when we received that advice, we looked at what options we would have for a nuclear-powered submarine.The technology in this vessel (HMSAstute), for example, means that the reactor can remain on that boat, intact, for 32 years - essentially for the life of the vessel and that was not available from the French.We had,obviously,a tough decision to make, but when it is cast in the terms as it was by the Chief of Navy and others that we needed to have the protection from a nuclear submarine to maintain that superiority in our region, then that became an obvious choice to us. ”

To-and-fro

In summary, during the four months since the AUKUS announcement to acquire a new generation of nuclear-powered submarines for the RAN,the amount and intensity of discussion surrounding this stunning decision have waivered back and forth, covering such subjects as: - overall, a good or unwise decision, - the cost factor and whether the nation can afford a force of eight nuclear boats, - should the first pair or all eight of the proposed boats be constructed overseas in the UK or USA, - can the required facilities in Port Adelaide be built in time for the keel laying of the lead boat, - should the whole boat be built in South Australia or just the forward half, leaving the nuclear power plant to be built overseas, and joined together locally, - the time delay to acquire and train such a force, considering that the threat to the region is said to currently exist and is growing, - should the Collins-class LOTE continue with the older boats, or should a Collins Mk2 (Son of Collins) be acquired instead as the more cost-effective plan B to operate modern submarines in the years ahead, and - while an older/retiring Royal Navy or US Navy boat may appear to be quick solution for the RAN, the former operator would still need to invest both human and technical resources into a class of boat it had planned to retire as part of its own upgrade programme.