As reported earlier, Australia is on the way to acquiring nuclear-powered submarines.
Under the arrangement, dubbed AUKUS, the United States and Britain will provide Australia with
the technology and capability to deploy nuclear-powered submarines.
Royal Australian Navy is expected to get 8 submarines,
which will be built in parts or fully in Australia.
Australia will likely base its submarine on a proven design such as
the U.S. Virginia class or U.K. Astute class. But since it takes a long time to build such
complex platforms and related infrastructure - most experts believe that it will be around 2040
or later before the first submarine enters Royal Australian Navy service.
To mitigate this, a new idea has been proposed - leasing older but
operable American or British submarines.
In this video Defense Updates analyzes how Australis could get nuclear-powered submarines
much quicker than estimated? Let's get started.
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Ex-Prime Minister Abbot suggested that,
in the short term, Australia should consider leasing or purchasing one or more
existing U.S. submarines to develop Australia’s capability to operate nuclear-powered submarines.
Speaking at a Wilson Center event in Washington, D.C he floated the idea
stating “Might it be possible for Australia to acquire a retiring [Los Angeles] class boat or two
and to put it under an Australian flag and to run it, if you like, as an operational training boat?”
Abbott added that he’d make a similar proposal for
British nuclear-powered submarines “were I in London.”
Viewers may note that leasing submarines are not actually rare and several instances are present.
For example, INS Chakra which is a Russian Akula class nuclear-powered
submarine was leased to the Indian Navy for 10 years in 2012 and returned in June 2021
There are several Los Angeles-class submarines that could be a potential candidate
for lease or outright by Royal Australian Navy.
The ex-Pittsburgh (SSN-720)
and the former Louisville (SSN-724) — were decommissioned in April 2020 and March
2021, respectively and may still be diverted from the disposal process and restored.
The USS Providence (SSN-719) is scheduled to be decommissioned in December;
and the Oklahoma City (SSN-723), scheduled to decommission in June 2022.
As per some reports, the USS Chicago (SSN-721), Key West (SSN-722), San Juan
(SSN-751), and Topeka (SSN-754) are set to be decommissioned in the fiscal year 2024.
Britain has retired four of its seven Trafalgar class attack submarines.
This includes HMS Trafalgar (S107), HMS Turbulent (S87), HMS Tireless (S88) & HMS Torbay (S90)
A fifth, HMS Trenchant (S91) is also expected to be decommissioned soon.
This idea can be improvised by not only having 1-2 submarine for training but adding a fleet of
3-4 subs for training as well as operational use.
The backdrop is critical here and comes at a juncture when the relationship between Australia
and China has seen major deterioration. It is interesting to note that relation
was cordial but this changed since President Xi Jinping became the leader.
The situation became worse after Australia asked for a free and fair probe
into Coronavirus origin and China retaliated with a higher tariff on Australian goods.
At the Wilson Center event, Abbott said “like everyone else— until probably the end of 2015,
I was a China optimist. We all thought for a long time that China and the West
were on ... converging paths.” China became the largest customer for Australian exports, he said,
but then “weaponized trade against Australia.”
Mr. Abbot stated, “Victor Gao, a senior Beijing foreign policy analyst and former
translator for Chairman Deng [Xiaoping] directly threatened Australians.‘Do
you want to be a target for a possible nuclear war?’ he said, in response to our
decision to acquire nuclear-powered but not [nuclear-]armed submarines.
So, if the drums of war can be heard in our region — as an official of ours has noted,
it's not Australia that's beating them. The only drums we beat are for justice and freedom.”
While conventional designs such as with AIP or air-independent propulsion systems
have increased the time for which a submarine can remain underwater,
they cannot match the unlimited range & endurance that nuclear propulsion provides.
Even the most advanced AIP vessels, such as ones that use fuel cell technology, have to surface
from time to time, including to refuel. This exposes them to easy detection.
Typically an AIP-enabled vessel can only remain submerged continuously for 2-3 weeks.
An older Los Angeles-class and Trafalgar class submarine
can't be beaten by the latest conventionally powered sub in this regard.
So, even a small fleet of the refurbished nuclear-powered submarine will be a
significant deterrent as they could threaten any Chinese naval fleet
approaching Australian waters and if they possess land-attack capabilities they
could be used to neutralize Chinese assets like missile launch sites.
So, the idea of leasing is an intriguing option and makes sense.