Two very different opinions on Australias capabilities.....not to mention it will be yet another election promise broken if they aren't built here
Australian submarine production should stay in Australia says Crispin Hull
THE news this week that Indonesia is to buy submarines from South Korea with a view to eventually importing enough technology to start building their own in the near future must be quite depressing for the Australian Defence Force.
While Indonesia plans aggressively to go from importing submarines to building its own, Australia seems to be passively sliding from having its own Australian-built submarines to importing something off the shelf from abroad, or importing something and then modifying it.
First we were toying with importing a Japanese sub, with attendant bad messages to China, then a German one – almost laughable given the difference in the length of the coastline of each nation.
A lot of popular commentary has belittled Australia's submarine effort, the construction and support of the Collins class submarine.
The commentary went along the lines that Collins proved that Australia was hopeless at this sort of thing. So if the Navy boys must have this type of toy, it would be cheaper, quicker and easier just to buy it off the shelf somewhere.
The supporting argument went along the lines that Australia is about to close its car industry and rely on much better and cheaper imports, so why not do the same with the submarine? Pardon the pun, but those arguments do not hold water.
For a start, the laws of comparative trade tell us that using subsidies to compete with countries that can produce cars more efficiently is wasteful. Producing hundreds of thousands of units that do essentially the same thing is completely different from producing just 12 highly specialised units for Australia's unique needs.
Facts and logic should point us to the proposition that if we do not build the replacement for the Collins class in Australia, there is little point in having a submarine fleet at all. We should ask why do we need a submarine fleet? Range and endurance, independence, stealth, potency and deterrence.
In 2000, HMAS Collins went -- without escort -- from the west coast to the east coast of Australia, then to Hawaii, to Alaska and the west coast of Canada and the US and then back home. In all, it was 21,000 nautical miles (39,000 kilometres) over 185 days, nearly all of which was underwater.
Moreover, being reliant on a foreign supplier to keep your submarines . . . er . . . underwater defeats the very purpose of having them – independent, secure defence assets that work for you.
Australia has built up huge expertise in submarine manufacture. Yes, mistakes were made during the development of Collins, but that should be seen as valuable experience, not an excuse to give up.
In short, any money saved by buying off the shelf would be more than lost by being beholden to a foreign supplier for maintenance and support and by losing Australian skills and Australian contract business.
More briefly, build the subs in Australia or not have them at all.
Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/comment/australian-submarine-production-should-stay-in-australia-says-crisp...
Tony Abbott warns of 'substandard' submarines if Australian-made prioritised
Prime Minister Tony Abbott has refused to commit to allowing Australian companies to publicly compete to build the next generation of submarines, saying the last thing the navy wants "is a substandard submarine".
Amid signs the government is preparing to purchase vessels made overseas, Mr Abbott has said that the first priority of Defence has to be that equipment is "world class" and "at a competitive price".
Defence Minister David Johnston said in May 2013: "We will deliver those submarines from right here at ASC in South Australia. The Coalition today is committed to building 12 new submarines here in Adelaide."
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/tony-abbott-warns-of-substandard-submarines-if...
