A Collins-class submarine undergoing maintenance with ASC in Adelaide. Photo: ASC.
The Royal Australian Navy’s fleet of six Collins-class conventional submarines has been placed on the Federal Government’s Projects of Concern (POC) list over questions about the boats’ sustainment.
The move is the second time the Collins boats have been on the POC list, after the capability was under increased ministerial scrutiny from 2008 to 2017.
The move follows other troubling issues surrounding Australia’s current and future submarine capabilities. Just last week, former defence secretary Dennis Richardson was appointed to conduct a review into the Australian Submarine Agency which has been tasked with developing the navy’s future nuclear-powered submarine capabilities.
In the meantime, a plan to acquire between three and five Virginia-class nuclear submarines from the US from 2032 is becoming increasingly less likely as the US continues to struggle to build sufficient submarines for its own requirements.
Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy said that with the Collins class required to operate well beyond its originally planned design life, it was essential that increased sustainment requirements were met to ensure the Collins class remained an effective and formidable capability until its withdrawal from service. He hoped to address any shortfalls through enhanced ministerial oversight via the POC process.
From 2026 the Collins boats were scheduled to enter a comprehensive Life-of-Type Extension (LOTE) program, an invasive two-year upgrade program that would see each boat essentially cut in half and its diesel and electric engines replaced, and receive new power conversion and distribution systems.
In June this year, Defence signed a new four-year sustainment contract, valued at $2.2 billion, for the Collins boats with Adelaide-based ASC.
Mr Conroy said the move to place the Collins-class boats on the POC list was an example of the government bringing the necessary energy and oversight to fix troubled projects.
“I have convened seven Projects of Concern summits in just two and a half years as Minister,” he said, without elaborating on what results had come from these summits.
With the withdrawal from service last year of the army’s MRH 90 Taipan helicopter, only the much-delayed joint civil-military OneSKY air traffic management program remained on the POC list until the Collins’ return.
“By listing Collins-class sustainment as a Project of Concern, the government is demonstrating its commitment to remediating these challenges and ensuring the Submarine Enterprise, which includes Defence and ASC Pty Ltd, delivers and sustains improved performance,” Mr Conroy said.
“This is in stark contrast to the approach taken by the former Coalition government, which ripped money away from funding sustainment of this critical capability. This is another example as to why Peter Dutton and his crew cannot be trusted on defence.”
The government-owned ASC is not only tasked with sustaining the Collins class and performing the planned LOTE, but has also been selected to build Australia’s planned SSN-AUKUS nuclear-powered submarines from 2038. In addition, the company has been tasked with assisting the servicing of the US and UK nuclear-powered submarines at Henderson in WA from 2027.
A Royal Australian Navy Collins-class submarine at periscope depth. Photo: US Navy via ADF.
In a November 2024 speech to the Submarine Institute of Australia, Chief of Navy Vice Admiral Mark Hammond sought to “dispel some myths” about the Collins-class submarines.
“They are meeting the operational requirements of the Australian Government,” he said.
“As responsible owners of such a complex capability, we do plan for contingencies, we can opt for early or shortened maintenance cycles, we surge to meet priority taskings, and we rest in port when the hard work is done.
“But you don’t see a headline in the media when we have four submarines at sea at the same time, as we did just a few months ago, or when two submarines are concurrently deployed thousands of miles from home port, as they were just a couple of months ago.
“As many of you know, submarines and building and maintaining them are some of the most complex engineering undertakings in the world, requiring an intricate blend of cutting‑edge technology, precision manufacturing, astute decision-making and an array of specialised skills.
“The demands on these vessels that must operate silently, survive immense underwater pressure and perform with unparalleled stealth and endurance necessitate systems integration on an extraordinary scale. Each submarine is a compact self‑sustained vessel requiring power generation, life support, propulsion and advanced weaponry, all within a confined space.”
In a 13 December LinkedIn post, Michael Shoebridge from think tank Strategic Analysis Australia said the move to place the Collins class on the POC List was code for “things are going so badly there needs to be external action to try to fix them”.
“But, instead of conveying the gravity of this defence shortfall to the Australian public, Minister Conroy tried to turn this into a positive, saying it showed ‘the government is demonstrating its commitment and resolve’,” he said.
“What muddle-headed mind can see our navy’s inability to have deployable submarines as an opportunity to celebrate themselves?
“This spin continues the current government’s nauseating self-congratulatory mindset on all things Defence as its first term in government comes to an end.
“It would show seriousness of purpose for Mr Conroy to spend less time looking for angles to deliver self-praise and more time levelling with the Australian public about critical shortfalls in our defence capabilities, and credible steps to fix them.”
