Royal Australian Navy Discussions and Updates

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swerve

Super Moderator
... To put it into perspective this thing is equal to about 1/3 the displacement of a Euro sub and takes upto two to three times the space they dedicate to their batteries.
Nonsense! You're imagining that there is a standard European submarine. No such thing. European SSKs currently in service are up to 80% of the displacement of the Collins class. SSKs now building are up to 75% of Collins size. According to you, a "Euro sub" is half that size. And that's ignoring SSNs, which one European SSK builder is currently building.

You're peddling irrational prejudice, not engaging in reasoned discussion.
 

hairyman

Active Member
I'm pretty sure your Grandparents weren’t making a daily commute between Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth back in the 19th century. Just like no one for anything less than $500k a year is going to be commuting daily between Perth and Sydney even if they can fly business class. You completely fail to understand the dynamics involved and the examples you give to ‘refute’ the tyranny of distance are laughable.


Who is talking about a daily commute? What I am saying is that Perth is now only 4 hours away, so Service Personnel and their families should be able to visit their families and friends on a regular basis. And I would expect the cost of travel to be subsidised by the government under the circumstances.:rel
 

Abraham Gubler

Defense Professional
Verified Defense Pro
Who is talking about a daily commute? What I am saying is that Perth is now only 4 hours away, so Service Personnel and their families should be able to visit their families and friends on a regular basis. And I would expect the cost of travel to be subsidised by the government under the circumstances.:rel
You fail to get the point. A four hour flight isn’t exactly useful if you want to drop the kids off at the Grandparents so you can go out on date night. It’s all about living in your community or at least for part of your career. It’s not nor has it ever been an issue of access for holidays. The time of flight from Perth to Sydney has not changed much in the past 50 years. The life styles of people 100 years ago is also as relevant to this discussion as recruitment practices of the Nelsonic navy.
 

StingrayOZ

Super Moderator
Staff member
That story about the battery is interesting. May not be going Lithium ion for the new subs. I suppose issues with lithium batteries in an enclosed space? I million isn't enough to switch to li-ion. I would imagine having ~400t of Li-ion in an enclosed space would be terrifying.
[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMy2_qNO2Y0"]Lithium Ion Battery Explosion - YouTube[/nomedia]

Those batteries look huge. Im surprise to get such a detailed look. If you estimate the size of the battery (and if the quote 440t is correct) you can have an estimate idea of the range of a Collins (from the A/Hr.).

I wonder what type of improvements they are looking at. There's all sorts of improvements to surface area, materials, construction.

However building better batteries in Australia has to be a good thing. Keeping money with in the nation, battery company could also supply other needs, telco, mining, automotive etc, keeping them competitive. The battery of the collins class was one of the few areas where I don't think there were any negative comments about it.
 

gf0012-aust

Grumpy Old Man
Staff member
Verified Defense Pro
That story about the battery is interesting. May not be going Lithium ion for the new subs. I suppose issues with lithium batteries in an enclosed space? I million isn't enough to switch to li-ion. I would imagine having ~400t of Li-ion in an enclosed space would be terrifying.
Lithium Ion Battery Explosion - YouTube

Those batteries look huge. Im surprise to get such a detailed look. If you estimate the size of the battery (and if the quote 440t is correct) you can have an estimate idea of the range of a Collins (from the A/Hr.).

I wonder what type of improvements they are looking at. There's all sorts of improvements to surface area, materials, construction.

However building better batteries in Australia has to be a good thing. Keeping money with in the nation, battery company could also supply other needs, telco, mining, automotive etc, keeping them competitive. The battery of the collins class was one of the few areas where I don't think there were any negative comments about it.
the issue is about battery efficiency relative to displacement.

it doesn't matter how big the sub is in absolute terms, its about energy generation efficiencies.

eg when I worked a prev sub project overseas the only efficient non nuclear energy generation solution available for larger subs was US based and ITARs restricted. (and it wasn't fuel cell or Lithium based)

short of getting a small nuke, smaller sized subs don't have the capacity to carry the size of energy generation and storage that we envisage for larger fleet conventionals (and we have had euro submissions falling out our kazoo)

if you want BYG type performance, if you want approp sized arrays, bow, flank, stern and if you want to drive the C4 suites available to us that enable us to interoperate with critical partners across different spectrum and mediums with less grief. then the solution set narrows.
 

ADMk2

Just a bloke
Staff member
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Nonsense! You're imagining that there is a standard European submarine. No such thing. European SSKs currently in service are up to 80% of the displacement of the Collins class. SSKs now building are up to 75% of Collins size. According to you, a "Euro sub" is half that size. And that's ignoring SSNs, which one European SSK builder is currently building.

You're peddling irrational prejudice, not engaging in reasoned discussion.
No he's not. He's referring to the non-suitability of the current European sub-designs to meet our future requirements for son of Collins, despite the enthusiasm for them in some sectors.

Collins isn't big enough to do so. Anything smaller is far less suitable...

How that equates to irrational prejudice is something I'm not seeing, nor does that kind of comment contribute much to "reasoned" discussion...

:frown
 

Sea Toby

New Member
You fail to get the point. A four hour flight isn’t exactly useful if you want to drop the kids off at the Grandparents so you can go out on date night. It’s all about living in your community or at least for part of your career. It’s not nor has it ever been an issue of access for holidays. The time of flight from Perth to Sydney has not changed much in the past 50 years. The life styles of people 100 years ago is also as relevant to this discussion as recruitment practices of the Nelsonic navy.
Neither does being based in Sydney help matters if your parents live in Melbourne or Brisbane or Perth or Hobart or Adelaide. Why is Sydney so important? Do all submarines being recruited come from Sydney? What is wrong with hiring a baby sitter?
 

Abraham Gubler

Defense Professional
Verified Defense Pro
Neither does being based in Sydney help matters if your parents live in Melbourne or Brisbane or Perth or Hobart or Adelaide. Why is Sydney so important? Do all submarines being recruited come from Sydney? What is wrong with hiring a baby sitter?
Just when you think arguments can’t get any dumber….

Being an expert in Australian demography it must come to no surprise to you that there are many more people living in the Greater Sydney region than in Perth. 3-4 times depending on where you draw the borderline for Sydney, no such illusions for Perth considering it is surrounded by great extremes of desert. And yes 3-4 times a base population is a better thing. Also that the populations of the east coast are far more mobile internally north and south than from east to west.

As to hiring baby sitters I would have thought even the most unimaginative and mentally challenged reader would have noticed that the drop the kids of at the grandparents was just an example of normal human extended family and friendship group social interaction. Perhaps I’m being harsh on you as you might have no personal experience of this or understanding that this is how 80% of humans in advanced western societies live.
 

swerve

Super Moderator
No he's not. He's referring to the non-suitability of the current European sub-designs to meet our future requirements for son of Collins, despite the enthusiasm for them in some sectors.

How that equates to irrational prejudice is something I'm not seeing, nor does that kind of comment contribute much to "reasoned" discussion...

:frown
He's doing so using a false argument - and one that he should know is false - referring to an imaginary "Euro sub" as if there was such a thing (in reality, as he should know, there's a wide range of European submarines, with SSKs up to twice his size & much larger SSNs) in order to give himself an invented baseline for an unfavourable comparison.

Regardless of the validity of your point of view (& I agree, there is no current European SSK suitable as a Collins replacement), arguing in such a manner is inappropriate.
 

Abraham Gubler

Defense Professional
Verified Defense Pro
- referring to an imaginary "Euro sub" as if there was such a thing (in reality, as he should know, there's a wide range of European submarines, with SSKs up to twice his size & much larger SSNs) in order to give himself an invented baseline for an unfavourable comparison.
It is appropriate in the Australian context. No one in their right mind is suggesting the RAN buy Astutes, Barracudas or Russian submarines. So as has been established in the vernacular “Euro Sub” refers to the various European SSKs of similar size and performance (T214, S80, etc) that have been suggested by some commentators and commercial agents for SEA 1000. In this context it’s an acceptable and widely understand term. The same way ‘Japanese Car’ may be used in the American vernacular for a small to medium sized car despite the Toyota Crown, Magna, Lexus and other large Japanese cars.
 

Volkodav

The Bunker Group
Verified Defense Pro
He's doing so using a false argument - and one that he should know is false - referring to an imaginary "Euro sub" as if there was such a thing (in reality, as he should know, there's a wide range of European submarines, with SSKs up to twice his size & much larger SSNs) in order to give himself an invented baseline for an unfavourable comparison.

Regardless of the validity of your point of view (& I agree, there is no current European SSK suitable as a Collins replacement), arguing in such a manner is inappropriate.
Well actually, as AD and Abe have both suggested, I was thinking of the sub types being listed as MOTS options for the RAN, specifically Scorpene, S-80, Type 212/214, as the nuclear option has been excluded and the Type 216 is a paper design in the same mould and with the same risks as the Type 471. My sincere apologies for stating that the battery at 440t was a third the weight of one of these subs, between a fifth and a quarter would have been more accurate.

None the less I stand by my statement that a battery such as that used in the Collins Class is physically larger than any that would / could fit in any current European DE Sub, especially since all the MOTS options (bar the smaller Scorpene variants) being examined also have AIP which takes up a considerable amount of space.

As to what I said that got your back up I am stumped, all I can assume is you read something into my post that wasn't there. I would greatly appreciate it if you took a deep breath and reread my post in the context of the SEA 1000 requirements and discussions. I am a fan of the Type 212 (as I am of the Gipen and Lynx) but the reality is none of the MOTS options being examined fit the RANs requirements.
 

CAGSATCO

New Member
Why do all 12 future subs have to the same.? Build say 6 super Collins boats learning from the mistakes and good points from the past. By the time the first six are nearing completion technology will have moved on and a rolling program of another six suitable boats started. By the end of that program keep rolling. Crewing is always seen as the issue. Well most other navies are not as obsessed with commonality as we are. cross training can work. We do it with FFH/FFG and new AWD on top of the water so why not below the surface?
 

jeffb

Member
Why do all 12 future subs have to the same.? Build say 6 super Collins boats learning from the mistakes and good points from the past. By the time the first six are nearing completion technology will have moved on and a rolling program of another six suitable boats started. By the end of that program keep rolling. Crewing is always seen as the issue. Well most other navies are not as obsessed with commonality as we are. cross training can work. We do it with FFH/FFG and new AWD on top of the water so why not below the surface?
There was a video linked in this thread just a week ago with the head of the program discussing all of those points...
 

gf0012-aust

Grumpy Old Man
Staff member
Verified Defense Pro
Why do all 12 future subs have to the same.? Build say 6 super Collins boats learning from the mistakes and good points from the past. By the time the first six are nearing completion technology will have moved on and a rolling program of another six suitable boats started. By the end of that program keep rolling. Crewing is always seen as the issue.
they don't stay the same, improvements to class always occur, its happened on subs and skimmers for all the assets we've built in the last 40 years


Well most other navies are not as obsessed with commonality as we are. cross training can work. We do it with FFH/FFG and new AWD on top of the water so why not below the surface?

actually they are, thats why all modern navies are moving to common combat rooms etc... so that we can cross train and cross deck wherever possible

BYG exists for more than just its combat capability

its not just about the platforms either... there is a reason why solutions like C2PC, GCCS-M, GCCS-J are preferred solutions sets.

when the US, UK, Canada, NZ, Singapore, Sth Korea and Japan come over and train or participate in exercises, those common platforms, common logistics, common combat systems and common protocols make interoperability a whole lot easier

the reason why UK, US, Canada and NZ have "permanent" embeds at HQ is to kake sure we share and maintain commonality across a wide spectrum of structure and widgets.

consistency of design type and interoperability across principle partners is of major importance.

designing from the start is a fundamental req
 
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Volkodav

The Bunker Group
Verified Defense Pro
Why do all 12 future subs have to the same.? Build say 6 super Collins boats learning from the mistakes and good points from the past. By the time the first six are nearing completion technology will have moved on and a rolling program of another six suitable boats started. By the end of that program keep rolling. Crewing is always seen as the issue. Well most other navies are not as obsessed with commonality as we are. cross training can work. We do it with FFH/FFG and new AWD on top of the water so why not below the surface?
That would be ideal.

Look at what Japan does 18 subs (being increased now but can't remember to what) one new boat per year and an 18 year (now being increased) service life. With 12 we could look to build in blocks of 4 boats over 6 year intervals, 1st at slow time to get everything right followed by 3 at full rate.
 

swerve

Super Moderator
Well actually, as AD and Abe have both suggested, I was thinking of the sub types being listed as MOTS options for the RAN, specifically Scorpene, S-80, Type 212/214, as the nuclear option has been excluded and the Type 216 is a paper design in the same mould and with the same risks as the Type 471. My sincere apologies for stating that the battery at 440t was a third the weight of one of these subs, between a fifth and a quarter would have been more accurate.

None the less I stand by my statement that a battery such as that used in the Collins Class is physically larger than any that would / could fit in any current European DE Sub, especially since all the MOTS options (bar the smaller Scorpene variants) being examined also have AIP which takes up a considerable amount of space.

As to what I said that got your back up I am stumped, all I can assume is you read something into my post that wasn't there. I would greatly appreciate it if you took a deep breath and reread my post in the context of the SEA 1000 requirements and discussions. I am a fan of the Type 212 (as I am of the Gipen and Lynx) but the reality is none of the MOTS options being examined fit the RANs requirements.
Apologies if I overreacted, but I've recently been getting heartily sick of the "euro crap" line I've seen in various places, in which all European products are lumped together, any deficiencies in one are assumed to be common to all of them, & a specific model is chosen & criticised, then the criticisms applied to others for which they are not valid. Your post looked remarkably like yet another example of that genre, with its lumping together of several submarines as "a Euro sub".

BTW, I think Australia should be talking to Japan about submarines, now that Japanese policy has changed. Right size subs, built for open oceans, get in now & there could be an Australian-specific variant of the next Japanese model, & at the rate they turn 'em out that could be about the right schedule. The way they do incremental changes, it should be pretty low risk.
 

Sea Toby

New Member
Just when you think arguments can’t get any dumber….

Being an expert in Australian demography it must come to no surprise to you that there are many more people living in the Greater Sydney region than in Perth. 3-4 times depending on where you draw the borderline for Sydney, no such illusions for Perth considering it is surrounded by great extremes of desert. And yes 3-4 times a base population is a better thing. Also that the populations of the east coast are far more mobile internally north and south than from east to west.

As to hiring baby sitters I would have thought even the most unimaginative and mentally challenged reader would have noticed that the drop the kids of at the grandparents was just an example of normal human extended family and friendship group social interaction. Perhaps I’m being harsh on you as you might have no personal experience of this or understanding that this is how 80% of humans in advanced western societies live.
Now you are more or less saying the folks living in Perth don't have social interaction. I wonder what the citizens of Perth think? With your mentality, there would be no one based in Perth. At some point the citizens living in Perth will demand air force fighters and an armored division as they pay taxes too.

Considering the wealth generated by Western Australian mining, I am sure there are defence officials who believe more of the Australian armed forces should be based in Western Australia.
 

ngatimozart

Super Moderator
Staff member
Verified Defense Pro
Neither does being based in Sydney help matters if your parents live in Melbourne or Brisbane or Perth or Hobart or Adelaide. Why is Sydney so important? Do all submarines being recruited come from Sydney? What is wrong with hiring a baby sitter?
You still don't get the point. It's a bloody long way between Perth and and the east coast where the very large majority of the population live. You don't appreciate the immensity of the distances involved or the immensity of Australia. It is not like Pomland where if you turn around you knock somebody over and you can drive from one end to the other in less than 24 hours. So Sea Toby mate like I suggested a while back have a look at a map. Secondly, how many servicemen do you know can afford four hour airline return flights time and again? It isn't exactly cheap flying Perth - East Coast - Perth, especially if you're going to Hobart, Be bloody cheaper to fly to Auckland or Christchurch return.
 

weegee

Active Member
Now you are more or less saying the folks living in Perth don't have social interaction. I wonder what the citizens of Perth think? With your mentality, there would be no one based in Perth. At some point the citizens living in Perth will demand air force fighters and an armored division as they pay taxes too.

Considering the wealth generated by Western Australian mining, I am sure there are defence officials who believe more of the Australian armed forces should be based in Western Australia.
I don't think anyone is suggesting removing all of the subs from WA, but if they really wanted to retain the SUB personal surely splitting the fleet between east and west would give the best of both worlds. (You would think anyway)

Also don't just think Australia is a big sand pit just waiting to be dug up! the mining industry only contributes 10% of GDP. I know that's a lot but if you would listen to the media they would have you believe it was 80%.
 
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