Well, he is super happy about how to pronounce Thales, as a frenchman.
Not sure how he wants to attached 4 x LRASM onto an OPV, a 10 ton installation. Plus he is getting the ADF to develop a box launcher for this configuration (and a system for launching it from 9LV on the OPV inc integration). Lets just ignore NSM, which is far lighter, far smaller, already available in a light weight box launcher, or RBS15 with 9LV. Not to mention if the Arafura are in range to use weapons, so are the Arafuras in range of the enemies weapons. In that exchange I would expect the Arafura's to come off 2nd best with a missile exchange with a Chinese destroyer taskforce.
He does see the value in it as a sensor platform. Sea lancer is a viable system to look at. IMO. He misses a lot of the value of it operating in conjunction with a specialist ASW combatant (Hobart/Hunter) and its air. Its not just a value from a towed array. Also integration is magical. My Navman in my car integrates with my tinnys garmin echo fishfinder which integrates into Hobarts Aegis to form a cohesive picture of the planet mixing sensor data from everything.
Also fairly casual about increasing the RAN manning by around 400 and the budget by billions. Also by sticking stuff onto ships, you will increase the manning requirement.
Sure we could do that. Give the Arafura a bit more kick and have more of them. ~400 crew is a lot. That is like the crew of a Canberra class (or a dedicated carrier), a Burke destroyer, or two hobart destroyers. Or 8 submarines. Or 4 A140's. There is no free lunch in expanding.
IMO he would do better being a bit more rounded and covering strengths and weaknesses of options. His videos sound like the is the guy selling the platform and weapon systems. It feels a bit click baity.. Defence ministers hate this one trick... The fresh perspective wears a bit thin.
Yup, zero discussion on the impact on the vessel itself, of his various options. He notes the similar RBN vessel mounting Exocet and then notes how much smaller and lighter Exocet is than LRASM but doesn’t bother explaining how the much larger LRASM is supposed to fit in the very tight space in which Exocet is housed on that RBN ship… Nor does the impact of LRASM rocket-boosted backblast on the RHIB’s which would be positioned directly in the path of that backblast on an Arafura but which are conspicuously absent for “some reason” (not sure what it could possibly be…) on the RBN vessel, seem to matter much in his world… Maybe in his world, just buy an unlimited supply of RHIB’s and if you happen to write one off due to an LRASM launch, well just write that off as the cost of doing business?
Similarly SeaRAM (which I assume he is proposing as that is the only system he showed). The only place I can think that could be successfully mounted is on a special mount at the rear of the flight deck… What that might do to flight operations of a UAS system, nor the overall handling of the vessel, or even whether the vessel has the structural strength to handle that weigh (6t plus change) in that location is of course left un-discussed. The fact that RAN has showed more interest previously in the French SIMBAD SAM system (mooted for ANZAC Class pre- WIP) than it EVER has in the RIM-116 RAM system, is also left un-discussed as is any other possible air self-defence system…
Nor is the impact of effectively replacing the stern launched RHIB with a towed sonar array (if I understood his proposals correctly) and who and where on the ship might be able to cater for these air defence, ASW and ASuW missions suddenly added to this vessel…
I’ve advocated for a long time, a better gun on these (Bofors Mk.4 40mm plus 3P ammunition or Bofors Mk.3 57mm seem the most likely choices) that give them ‘some’ improved ASuW and AD capability to me seems a desirable upgrade... But a new gun, an air defence missile, LRASM and a towed sonar array onto these is simply ludicrous.
If you stripped off all the currently planned mission systems for the Arafura’s, didn’t give a toss about vessel stability, EM environment, crewing, available Ops room space or the fact that you are contemplating giving a vessel that has a cheap 2D radar ONLY on-board, an air defence mission…
Well sure, why not? Makes loads of sense… In fact why stop at LRASM? Let’s find a way to put containerised Tomahawk onto that flight deck… Give them a land attack mission as well, seeing as though completely ignoring other mission systems seems to be the way to go…