All the way with USA the smart move for Australia: Richard Spencer

The Australian | October 12, 2021

As a former US secretary of the navy, I oversaw the US Navy’s decision to spend $US22bn to purchase nine new Virginia-class submarines. The US is continuing to invest in this program because the technology behind SSNs is an increasingly important naval asset in the ever-changing maritime combat landscape.

It also should be noted that within the navy and the US Department of Defence the Virginia-class submarine program is one of the most successful acquisition programs in terms of cost/performance and delivery. Australia’s decision on which type of SSN to procure will be critical. The Virginia-class is better for Australia’s national security mission, is more interoperable and is likelier to fill the capability gap earlier with proven manufacture and sustainment costs.

The Royal Australian Navy needs a submarine with diverse capabilities. An Australian SSN needs to deter foreign adversaries from attacking vital sea lines of communication and trade, to perform intelligence gathering and processing missions, and to be able to interdict foreign vessels in Australia’s backyard. There is no better option than the Virginia-class for these purposes.

The Virginia-class carries more weapons than any other industry counter­part. The new payload module increases the capacity of torpedoes and missiles from 37 to 65. The American submarine also has a Tomahawk missile vertical launching system, which pairs nicely with Australia’s recent announcement that it will purchase more Tomahawk missiles from the US.

With this suite of weaponry, adversaries will think twice before targeting Australian sea routes.

On the intel and interdiction side, the Virginia-class is equipped with the best sensory and detection tools available on the market.

One key point for the RAN to consider is the closeness of the US and Australian navies, and the deep ties between the US-Australian defence industrial bases. This interoperability in the military and private sector will result in a better submarine for Australia’s needs. Australia’s defence experts have said much of the same.

A paper about which SSN would be best for Australia, presented at the Submarine Institute of Australia by Commander John Thornton (ret), a specialist in nuclear submarine engineering, says: “The most capable submarine undoubtedly will be the Virginia-class, followed by the Astute-class.” It also highlights the RAN’s “close involvement with the US Navy” and the ASC’s “close relationship” with General Dynamics, manufacturer of the Virginia-class submarine.

Read more at The Australian.

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Duis elementum cursus ipsum vel condimentum. Donec accumsan arcu libero, non tincidunt neque tempus eget. Aliquam rhoncus sapien id est lacinia, vitae faucibus neque hendrerit. Morbi sit amet posuere ligula. Vestibulum at posuere sapien, nec tincidunt purus. Maecenas porttitor nunc eu eleifend auctor.

Morbi interdum turpis ac mauris scelerisque bibendum. Fusce tincidunt ultricies quam, id pretium massa fermentum in. Ut enim eros, pharetra quis fermentum ac.