David Johnston (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

asked the Minister representing the Minister for Defence, upon notice, on 20 August 2012:

As at 30 June 2012:

(1) Is it still planned to acquire 12 submarines as per the White Paper direction 'the Government takes the view that our future strategic circumstances necessitate a substantially expanded submarine fleet of 12 boats in order to sustain a force at sea' (Defence White Paper 2009, p. 64, paragraph 8.40)?

(2) What plans and strategies are in place to man the 12 future submarines given the great difficulty, in 2011-12, of manning and operating the current fleet of submarines?

(3) What is the expected cost of acquiring 12 future submarines, over the next: (a) 12 months; (b) 5 years; (c) 10 years; and (d) 15 years?

(4) What funding has been provided to assist in the planning for the 12 future submarines?

(5) When is it expected that the first pass approval will be provided to advance the purchase of the 12 future submarines?

(6) What are the expected through-life support and operating costs of a fleet of 12 future submarines over a 30 year operating period?

(7) When is it envisaged that the first of the 12 future submarines will be launched and fully operational?

(8) What is the expected cost per year of maintaining and operating the existing 6 Collins Class submarines until they are de-commissioned, broken down by year until 2025?

(9) What is the specific phasing-out program for the existing Collins Class submarines?

Bob Carr (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Minister for Defence has provided the following answer to the honourable senator's question:

(1) Yes.

(2) Crewing requirements for the future submarines are yet to be determined and will depend on a range of factors that will be examined by the SEA1000 program. Appropriate crewing strategies will be developed as part of this process.

(3) Options are currently being developed and are yet to be considered by government.

(4) Funding allocated to date is $233.35 million.

(5) On current schedule, first pass approval is planned for late 2013 or early 2014.

(6) and (7) As a decision is yet to be taken on the platform to be acquired, this has not yet been determined.

(8) As detailed in the 10-year Budget maintained by Defence, the estimated costs of maintaining and operating the existing six Collins Class submarines until 2021-22 are as follows:

Estimated maintenance costs will range from $570m to $670m/year

Estimated Operating Costs will range from $200m to $230m/year

Estimated Total maintenance and operating costs will range from $770m to $900 m/year

Notes:

1. Maintenance costs cover all sustainment costs including: the conduct of all planned and corrective maintenance across the submarine fleet; inventory; the replacement of equipment becoming obsolete with age; maintenance of training equipment within the Submarine Training Systems Centre; upkeep of the Submarine Escape Training Facility; funding for the contracted submarine escape and rescue service; and participation in armaments cooperative programs with the United States Navy for ongoing joint development of the submarine combat system and heavy-weight torpedo.

2. In Service Support Contract costs will vary from year to year depending on the number of submarines in planned maintenance. The significant drop in costs in FY2015/16 reflects the lower number of planned submarine maintenance periods across that financial year.

3.Operating Costs for Submarines include: Relevant military employee costs across Defence and DMO; relevant civilian employee cost in Navy; and other operating costs including fuel and cost of sustaining explosive ordnance.

(9) The Collins class submarines have a design life of 28 years. The first submarine is currently planned to reach the end of its service life in 2026, with the final submarine planned to be withdrawn from service in 2031. A Service Life Evaluation Program (SLEP) is currently examining the possibility of a life extension for the Collins Class submarine.

Using a similar SLEP approach, other navies have successfully extended the design life of their submarine fleets; the United States Navy extended the life of the Ohio class submarine fleet from 30 to 40 years.