Ultimately, the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) should have eight nuclear attack submarines (SNA), acquired under the AUKUS agreement (Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States). And this after canceling the purchase of twelve conventionally operated Shortfin Barracuda (or Attack Class) submarines from the French Naval Group. But there is no question of stopping there.
Indeed, on 20 February, the Australian Ministry of Defense unveiled a new naval strategic review, the ambition of which is to strengthen the RAN to “levels not reached since the Second World War”, called the Twenty-Six. Currently only eleven compared to first-tier surface ships.
“The RAN must be able to ensure the safety and security of our sea lanes (…) although it is essential to our way of life and our prosperity”, argued Richard Marles, Australian Defense Minister. The scheme will benefit from an additional investment of 6.5 billion Australian dollars.
However, given the difficulties it faces and the additional costs it has already generated, the C5000 (or Hunter) program, based on the British Type 26 frigate, is expected to be cut by a third. Advertised elsewhere. Last September. Thus, the RAN will receive only six of the nine ships ordered.
As a reminder, the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) recently criticized the conditions under which the Hunter program was launched, citing the reasons that forced Australian naval officers to choose the British model as “ambiguous”.
Regardless, reducing the number of Hunter-class frigates will free up resources for other programs. Thus, the Australian plan envisages the acquisition of six surface ships that can be operated without a crew and equipped with 32 vertical launch systems. Presumably, within the framework of the AUKUS agreement, the RAN will move closer to the US Navy, the latter having launched the LUSV (Large Unmanned Surface Vehicle) project to acquire such a capability.
In addition to three Hobart-type “destroyers”, six hunter frigates and six optionally crewed ships, the RAN would therefore need eleven multipurpose frigates to reach 26 “first-tier” surface ships. Apparently, they will not be made by Naval Group, the manufacturer was immediately rejected by the Australian Ministry of Defence. And this while a defense and intervention frigate (FDI) could certainly have done better.
Similar to the models proposed by the British… For example, the future Type 32 frigate would make it possible to overcome the RAN’s staffing problems as its crew could only number fifty sailors…
So the market will be played between Germany’s Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) with the Mako 200 frigate, Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, with the Mogami frigate, the South Korean Hanwha, Daegu class frigate and the Spanish Navantia. Alpha 3000 frigate.
