6척 중 1척만 현재 운용 가능한 콜린스급 잠수함

[위종민]

호주 해군의 콜린스급 6척 중 5척이 수리중이거나 수리 대기중이고, 현재 운용 가능한 잠수함은 1척뿐이라고 하네요. 

아들레이드의 오스본 조선소에서 2척이 수리중인데, 노동자들의 파업 및 예상치 못한 수준의 부식으로 작업도 지연되고 있다고 합니다. 세 척은 웨스턴 오스트레일리아주 HMAS 스털링의 가든 아일랜드 해군기지에 정박중입니다. 

호주 국방부는 콜린스급 잠수함에 대해 정부가 지시한 작전 가용성 수준을 충족하고 있으며, 필요한 경우 한 척 이상의 잠수함을 작전에 투입할 수 있다고 언론에 밝혔습니다. 

'Alarming' but 'not surprising': Australia reportedly left with 1 operational sub amid repairs, upgrades - Breaking Defense

'Alarming' but 'not surprising': Australia reportedly left with 1 operational sub amid repairs, upgrades - Breaking Defense

‘Alarming’ but ‘not surprising’: Australia reportedly left with 1 operational sub amid repairs, upgrades

"If our Collins class SSKs are non-operational in 2024, I really doubt that they will be a credible force through the remainder of this decade, let alone into the next one," Malcolm Davis, a defense expert at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said.

By   Colin Clarkon November 01, 2024 at 9:43 AM

A Collins Class submarine at Henderson Marine Complex, Western Australia. Credit Australian DoD

SYDNEY — Five of Australia’s six aging Collins-class submarines are undergoing repairs or are awaiting upgrades, according to a new report here, leaving only one fully operational boat to prowl the Pacific. It’s a development that could hobble Canberra’s ability to project power in the region and one that analysts said was “alarming” if not predictable.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation broke the story today, quoting “defense sources” who said that two of the Collins boats are currently in Adelaide’s Osborne shipyard. Workers there are striking, which is reportedly also causing delays to the in-depth maintenance underway. Unexpected levels of corrosion are reportedly slowing work as well. The three other boats are at HMAS Stirling’s Garden Island naval base in Western Australia

The Defense Ministry issued a statement to the ABC that it has “more than one boat available” for operations “if required.” The statement said that the Collins boats “meet government-directed levels of operational availability.” The ministry did not immediately respond to Breaking Defense’s request for comment.

Analysts expressed concern about the news, noting successive Australian governments have deferred and delayed making decisions about what was to replace the Collins class and how they should be maintained and upgraded.

The Collins-class subs are being upgraded to extend their projected lifespans. The “Life-of-Type Extension” (LOTE) was announced in June. Australia had already scaled back earlier planned upgrades to optronics for the Collins. Optronics refers to a visual sensor technology widely used on submarines. The boats will also not receive the Tomahawk cruise missile.

The new report is “pretty alarming news, especially since these boats have to operate through to the 2040s (alongside the Virginia class SSNs) and much was riding on LOTE, which has now been significantly scaled back. If our Collins class SSKs are non-operational in 2024, I really doubt that they will be a credible force through the remainder of this decade, let alone into the next one,” Malcolm Davis, a defense expert at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said in an email.

The so-called capability gap between the planned lifespan of the Collins class and the arrival of the first Australian-owned Virginia class nuclear-powered attack submarines has long been a topic of concern here. The United States intends to sell Australia three Virginia class boats as soon as the early 2030s. Australia has an option to buy up to two more.

If the Collins fleet remains as hobbled as they are now, that gap may need to be addressed more urgently. One UK and up to four US nuke boats will rotate regularly to HMAS Sterling starting in 2027 in what is called Submarine Rotational Force – West (SRF-West). That force may be used to bridge the capability gap.

“My guess is that government will try to explain that SRF-West will carry the burden if the Collins class boats can’t deploy, but that argument is pretty unconvincing given that the SRF-W boats are US Navy and occasional Royal Navy Astutes,” Davis said.

The AUKUS Optimal Pathway, the government’s plan for acquiring next-generation subs, should have included an option to purchase Japanese or South Korean conventionally powered subs to replace Collins immediately rather than pursuing the LOTE upgrades, argued Davis. He said the Royal Australian Navy was opposed to such an option because they worried that the nuclear option would be canceled.

The state of the Collins fleet was “not surprising,” according to Jennifer Parker, a former Royal Australian Navy officer now at the National Security College of the Australian National University.

“If the reporting is correct, it’s not surprising given the state of the aged boats outlined by Defense in estimates and the plan to extend their life,” Parker said in an email. “The lesson here is that successive governments have delayed decision making on recapitalization of the Navy. Now the issues can’t be immediately fixed. We must learn to start planning for replacement capabilities when classes of vessels are first commissioned and make timely decisions.”

At the end of May, officials with the Australian Submarine Corporation (ASC) told a parliamentary hearing that half of the Collins fleet would be unavailable for the rest of the year as they were being upgraded and treated for unexpected corrosion problems discovered on two of the boats.

Just one Australian submarine is fully operational as aging fleet undergoes urgent maintenance - ABC News

The Australian Navy has been left with just one fully operational submarine

Just one Australian submarine is fully operational as aging fleet undergoes urgent maintenance

Exclusive by defence correspondent Andrew Greene

• Topic:Navy

Fri 1 NovFriday 1 November

The Australian Navy has been left with just one fully operational submarine. (Australian Defence Force: Jarryd Capper/ABIS)

In short:

The Australian Navy has been left with just one fully operational submarine as the rest of its aging fleet undergoes urgent repairs or await upgrades.

Australia operates a fleet of six Collins submarines, which have been recently beset by problems including hull corrosion.

What's next?

The Albanese government is yet to comment on the limited availability of Australia's Collins-class submarines.

abc.net.au/news/one-australian-submarine-is-fully-operational-aging-fleet/104551528

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The Australian Navy has been left with just one fully operational submarine as the rest of its aging Collins-class fleet undergoes urgent repairs or waits to complete scheduled upgrades.

At present, Australia operates a fleet of six Collins submarines which progressively entered service from 1996 but have been recently beset by problems such as "unprecedented" hull corrosion.

Defence sources have confirmed to the ABC that two of the Collins submarines are currently stationed at Adelaide's Osborne shipyard, where industrial action is causing delays to extensive maintenance known as "full-cycle docking".

Another three of the country's submarines are at Western Australia's Garden Island naval base, but Defence insists at least one of those boats could be put to sea if urgently required.

In a statement, Defence insists it has "more than one boat available" for operations "if required", although the ABC understands at least one of those submarines is yet to receive its certification to return to service.

"Defence continues to meet government-directed levels of operational availability for the Collins-class submarines. Defence has more than one boat available for operations if required," a Defence spokesperson told the ABC.

"Owing to operational security reasons, defence does not confirm‎ precise locations and availabilities of specific platforms," the spokesperson added.

In May, the Australian Submarine Corporation (ASC) told a parliamentary hearing that half of the Collins fleet would remain out of the water for the rest of the year with unprecedented corrosion problems discovered on two of the aging boats.

Since then, workers began strike action at the government-owned ASC maintenance and sustainment facility in Adelaide as they continued their long-running dispute seeking pay parity with ASC workers in Western Australia.

The Albanese government is yet to comment on the limited availability of Australia's Collins-class submarines.

Under the AUKUS partnership, US and British nuclear-powered submarines are due to begin rotating out of Western Australia from 2027, with Australia expected to receive its first Virginia-class submarines in the 2030s.

[Minowski(김유철)]

원잠 취역하기 전에 남은 잠수함 전력이 있을지 걱정되는 수준입니다..............

[강준구]

기본적인 조선 산업에 대한 기반/역량이 없는 나라에서는 함 도입 뿐 아니라, 그 사후 유지가 얼마나 중요한지를 보여주는 예인 것 같습니다. 디젤잠수함의 운용 수준이 저러한데, 원잠을 또 어떻게 유지하려나 싶기도 합니다.

[위종민]

ASC 보고 "카누도 제대로 못 만들 놈들!"이라고 디스했다가 국방부장관이 날아갔었죠. 잠수함이 녹슬었다는 걸 보면 말씀대로 원잠 갖다줘도 유지보수는 가능할지..