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Australia to build new naval fleet with $65 Billion Package

CougarKing

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An example to emulate when it comes to how to fund a naval shipbuilding program?

Defense News

Australia To Build New Naval Fleet in $65B Package
Agence France-Presse 4:14 p.m. EDT August 4, 2015

SYDNEY — Australia has announced an AUS $89 billion (US $65 billion) shipbuilding package to construct new frigates and patrol boats locally, with a decision on an international supplier for replacement submarines to be made "in coming months."

The "continuous shipbuilding" proposal, which involves the replacement of frigates, patrol boats and submarines over two decades, is expected by the government to keep up to 2,500 jobs in the sector in what Prime Minister Tony Abbott said was "a very historic announcement."

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Already covered here:

http://army.ca/forums/threads/90990.850.html
 
Dimsum said:
Already covered here:

http://army.ca/forums/threads/90990.850.html

Could the moderators please keep this thread separate? The older post above of the same article was for the Canadian context. This new thread is for the Australian shipbuilding context, which Aussie members like OTR1 might want to comment on.
 
More on the above:


Diplomat

Australia to Build Entire New Surface Warfare Fleet
Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced major investments in Australia’s shipbuilding industry.


Yesterday, the Australian government announced plans to invest more than A$89 billion (US$65 billion) in the country’s naval shipbuilding industry and to bring forward two surface warfare ship programs — the SEA 5000 Future Frigate acquisition project and the SEA 1180 Offshore Patrol Vessel program, AFP reports.

“Previous Australian governments have announced that individual ships or classes of ships will be built here in Australia,” Prime Minister Tony Abbott told local media yesterday. “What we are announcing today is basically a fleet build here in Australia, centered on [South Australia].”

The competitive evaluation program for the Future Frigate program will begin this October, with construction of the first vessel beginning in 2020 — three years earlier than expected. The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) will begin phasing out its fleet of eight Anzac-class frigates from 2024 onwards. The last Anzac-class vessel was commissioned only 11 years ago, in 2006.

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I wonder how much our National Ship Building Program process played a part in this?
 
It looks like quite a similar plan doesn't it?

But the big differences that the ANZAC's are being mid-life now at about 14-15 years of service and will be phased out at 29-30 years, not 45-50 years like we will end up doing.
 
And Canada?  And imagine such an independent study by a foreign organization!

Building naval warships costs 'up to 40% more in Australia than overseas'
...
Building naval warships in Australia costs 30% to 40% more than it does in comparable overseas shipyards, a government-commissioned review has found.

The government asked the US-based military research thinktank Rand Corporation to review Australia’s shipbuilding capabilities and the costs and benefits of government investment in the industry.

In a report to be released on Thursday [Aug. 6], the company noted the Department of Defence was in the early stages of its “ambitious” effort to procure up to 50 naval surface warships and submarines over the next two decades. Up to 15 of these vessels would be large surface ships such as air warfare destroyers, landing helicopter docks and future frigates.

The report’s executive summary – which has been distributed to media in advance – said 7,950 people were working in shipbuilding and submarine and ship repair last financial year. About half of those were employed by the government-owned shipbuilder ASC...
http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/apr/16/building-naval-warships-costs-up-to-40-more-in-australia-than-overseas?CMP=share_btn_tw

Mark
Ottawa
 
Thank you to SMA for the shout-out!  :) I'm holidaying in Maine until send of Sept, whereupon I return to the polar tropics of Connecticut and get back to work.

Re the RAN ship plan, I can clarify a few things;

(1) The number of new frigates is nine (9). To date, the UK Type 26 is by far the preferred design. Optimised for ASW but with good point defence and LAM capability as well. Heaps of internal space for future-proofing. A number of RAN dudes have been in the UK as part of the T26 definition team, and it's all thumbs up. That, of course, does not mean the govt will accept their choice. Good God no.

(2) The number of new corvettes is currently at 12, to replace the 14 Armidale-class patrol boats. I am not aware of any preferred design. If the number is above 12 then they are likely to be follow-ons to replace the hydrography and mine warfare ships. Although, using a steel hull for mine warfare might prove something a problem.....

(3) The number of new subs requested by the RAN is eight. There is a simple reason for that, I might add. They have never - repeat, never - asked for 12, but if the govt goes for that number then.....um.........there will be some not insignificant issues ahead. They sure as hell do not want the Japanese design. I cannot emphasise that enough.

(4) The noise about the shipbuilding industry has been gathering decibels for decades. The stop/start nature of acquisition has wreaked havoc, along with putrid union bastardry and incompetent management. From my perch this looks less like a plan than a solution. It's true that building warships in Oz usually adds 30-plus per cent to the cost, but that's also the difference between building a Burke DDG in the US and Japan. It is a matter of some note that a serious strategic mentality requires indigenous manufacturing capability, even at higher cost.

(5) Re the other thread about the Canberra-class LHDs not getting F-35Bs, I have received conflicting news from extremely credible sources that it's more likely to be pushed off to detailed review. So, with that in mind, I'm waiting for the DWP for clarity. In any case, no decision re the final 28 F-35s (of 100) will be made before 2020.

(6) On a related maritime note, the four extra P-8s for the RAAF are all-but a done deal. Further, an option for another four (4) is on the cards. This would explain why the P-8 facilities being built at RAAF Edinburgh can support a fleet of 16 a/c.

(7) The date of DWP release seems to be fungible. Could be third week of August, could be Sept. We'll see.

Hopefully there's something in this of use to someone here.  :)
 
Bad news for BAE:

Chicago Tribune

BAE mulls Australia naval future as state rival handed ship deal
By Chris Jasper and Benjamin Katz, Bloomberg News

BAE Systems said it's evaluating an Australian decision to focus construction of warships worth $A40 billion ($29 billion) on a state shipyard in a move that calls into question the future of its own facility near Melbourne.

While BAE said the commitment to sustained shipbuilding with no gaps in output should foster improved productivity, plans to assemble the ships at ASC Corp.'s yard in Adelaide offer no guarantees for the British company's Williamstown site.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott said Tuesday that production of new off-shore patrol vessels and frigates will be centered on the South Australia city, "where the majority of shipbuilding infrastructure is." BAE had been negotiating for months in an effort to bring more work to Williamstown, where it's already cutting jobs after the completion of two helicopter carriers.

< Edited >

Abbott said the bulk of 2,500 jobs on the ship programs will be in South Australia, where the government is seeking to respond to concerns about the future of manufacturing in a state with the nation's highest unemployment rate. Former Defense Minister David Johnston had told parliament in November that he wouldn't trust ASC to "build a canoe."


Williamstown is continuing construction of ship blocks for three destroyers that Australia has on order, with 13 of the 21 contracted having been delivered as of June 30, London-based BAE said last month. Production will continue through the first half of 2016. The vessels are being assembled by ASC in Adelaide.

Upgrade work on eight ANZAC Class frigates that BAE built at Williamstown from the early 1990s is taking place at the company's smaller Henderson yard near Perth, Western Australia.

< Edited >

Australia has commissioned a strategic review of ASC in parallel with the re-fleeting program, which could indicate plans for the restructuring or sale of an asset that was taken under state control in 2000 and flagged for disposal in the "short term" by the National Commission of Audit in 2014.

Austal Ltd., a private naval shipbuilder based in Western Australia, wants the country's states to acknowledge that work on the new vessels should be spread across yards nationally, according to the Australian Financial Review, which cited an interview with its CEO Andrew Bellamy. Austal customers include the U.S. Navy, for which it has built littoral combat ships.

< Edited >
 
more news from Australia regarding their future fleet building program:

Defence Aerospace

Shipbuilding – Getting On with the Job
(Source: Australian Department of Defence; issued Dec 17, 2015)
Minister for Defence Senator the Hon Marise Payne today confirmed that the Competitive Evaluation Processes have now commenced for the Future Frigates and Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs).

“The Turnbull Government is committed to ensuring Australia has a strong and sustainable shipbuilding industry. We are getting on with the job,’’ Minister Payne said.

“Defence is now conducting an analysis of mature ship designs for each project.

“This approach will enable Government to better understand the options for delivery of these important ADF capabilities.”

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Notable updates on the Air Warfare Destroyer/Hobart class destroyers and the F-35 programs:

Channel 9 News Australia

2:28pm February 17, 2016
Defence equipment still running late
By
AAP
FTBA

Defence is lifting its acquisition game, with just one of more than two dozen major projects needing extra government funding and one at risk of failing to deliver full capability.

But defence still faces challenges at delivering on time, with just seven of the top 25 projects running to schedule and the rest running a combined 768 months late.

That's actually an improvement - 19 of 30 projects reviewed in 2013-14 were running a combined 1115 months late.

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The exception is the $7.9 billion project to build three new air warfare destroyers, with the government announcing last year it would need an additional $1.2 billion to achieve completion.

This project is already running 34 months late.

Of the 25 projects, Defence says just the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning Joint Strike Fighter poses a risk of capability shortfall and it says that's manageable.


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an update to confirm what OTR1 said in another thread:

Good news for Spain's Narvantia shipyards.


Channel 9 News - (Australia)

4:26pm March 10, 2016
Spanish firm to build new navy ships
By AAP
FTBA
A Spanish shipbuilder has been chosen to build two new navy replenishment ships, the government has confirmed.

Defence Minister Marise Payne said on Thursday Navantia had been selected as the preferred tenderer to construct urgently needed replacements of replenishment vessels HMAS Success and HMAS Sirius.

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S.M.A. said:
an update to confirm what OTR1 said in another thread:

Good news for Spain's Narvantia shipyards:

No surprise really. They are my bet to pick up the OPV order as well.

Channel 9 News - (Australia)

This was to be expected,but for the OPV i think "we"still have a fighting chance.Since there are a lot of them liking the Damen designs a lot(sea axe for example)

gr,walter
 
Preferred OPV/corvette design?

Unknown.

A nifty new vid follows, of Cantabria RAS-ing the Spanish LHD. Will soon be common sight for the RAN.

Here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTyzKBQ1rJs

I very much hope and trust the Cantabria's RCN det goes well for all.  :)
 
DCNS competing not only for the sub tender, but for the frigate tender as well:

Defense News

DCNS Targets Australian Frigate Tender
Pierre Tran, Defense News 2:13 p.m. EDT March 19, 2016
Offers FREMM Frigates for $15B Program

TOULON, France — Rand Corp., a think tank, is due to conclude a short list of competitors this month for Australia’s tender for nine frigates to replace the Anzac warship, Hervé Boy, DCNS business development manager, said March 16.

An announcement of a “short list of two or three” candidates is due later this month in Australia’s Sea 5000 Future Frigate Program, he told journalists as DCNS formally handed over the Languedoc, a Frégate MultiMission or multimission frigate, to the Organisation Conjointe de Coopération en matière d’Armement (OCCAR), the international program manager.

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Further to S.M.A.: FREMM (and other Oz design competitors) noted in article as being after RCN CSC design contract too.  Note also smaller, "intermediate frigate" (sort of OPV?) possibility.

See also from November 2015:

RCN’s Canadian Surface Combatant Will be Foreign Design
https://cgai3ds.wordpress.com/2015/11/20/mark-collins-rcns-canadian-surface-combatant-will-be-foreign-design

Mark
Ottawa
 
No Mark, not an OPV.

At the indicated displacement, about 4,500 tonnes, you are looking at something that would be about the same size as the Halifax class frigate and, knowing the French, it would probably look and feel a lot like, but 25% bigger than, the La Fayette class light "stealth" frigates.
 
Oldgateboatdriver: What about the Italian PPAs (OPVs)?

http://www.janes.com/article/50655/italian-navy-anticipates-key-contracts-in-fleet-renewal-process

https://www.fincantieri.it/cms/data/browse/news/000640.aspx

1630609_-_main.jpg


Mark
Ottawa
 
MarkOttawa said:
Oldgateboatdriver: What about the Italian PPAs (OPVs)?

http://www.janes.com/article/50655/italian-navy-anticipates-key-contracts-in-fleet-renewal-process

https://www.fincantieri.it/cms/data/browse/news/000640.aspx

1630609_-_main.jpg


Mark
Ottawa

Yes, well the PPA are kind of  weird animals. Leave to the Italians  ;D

They are big, but they are sort of combined patrol vessel, multi-purpose light transport, other department support ships all rolled in one. However, they are not a "combatant" and carry very little in terms of armament. They are to to replace all the smaller patrol vessels of the Commandanti, Sirio and Cassiopeia class altogether. So these six vessels (though the possibility of four more has been mentioned) will replace ten patrol vessels.

This is fine because, at the same time, the Italian Navy will still have twelve very modern, recent and heavily armed destroyers and GP frigates (2 Horizonti and ten FREMMs), two aircraft carrier (Garibaldi is getting old, but it is planned to replace her with another one, likely a sister to Cavour), and the fleet revitalization also calls for the replacement of all three San Giorgio amphibious assault ships by three similar ones.

For us in Canada, or for the Australians, the  PPA would not do, as the phase of fleet replacement we will be in is for the actual GP frigates and destroyers. They have to be front line combatants, otherwise we should both become mere local coast guard.
 
Oldgateboatdriver--seems to me that DCNS might be suggesting a mixed buy for the RCN.  Also about the Italian vessels:

...
PPA – Multipurpose Offshore Patrol Ship

The multipurpose offshore patrol ship is a highly flexible ship with capacity to serve multiple functions ranging from patrol with sea rescue capacity to civil protection operations, and in its most highly equipped version, first line fighting vessel. There will be different configurations of combat system: a "soft" one for the patrol task integrated for self-defense ability, and a "full" one, equipped for a complete defense ability...
http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/naval/ships/2015/05/07/italy-ships-navy-fincantieri-finmeccanica-selex-multipurpose-offshore-patrol-logistic-support/70937388/

Mark
Ottawa
 
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