Lessons learnt for Australian submariners from missing Argentinian submarine experience

LOST or stuck Australian submariners will have a far better chance of survival, thanks to lessons learned from the unfolding Argentinian situation and top-secret technology, French designer Naval Group says.

• Last day of air for missing Argentinian submarine

LOST or stuck Australian submariners will have a far better chance of survival, thanks to lessons learned from the unfolding Argentinian situation and top-secret technology, French designer Naval Group says.

There are ways to extract crew from a submarine to help them communicate with the outside world, and for the crews to protect themselves.

At a meeting in Paris on Thursday, the executive director of Naval Group’s Australian Future Submarine program Jean-Michel Billig said classified technology would help Australia’s Shortfin Barracudas communicate so they are not lost with submariners on board.

Lost or stuck Australian submariners will have a far better chance of survival, thanks to lessons learned from the unfolding Argentinian situation and top-secret technology, French designer Naval Group says.

A search and rescue operation has been underway to find Argentina’s missing submarine but hopes are fading as authorities warn the ARA San Juan will be running out of oxygen.

The boat has been missing for about a week. After false alarms that signals from the submarine had been detected, the families of the 44 crew are getting desperate.

Mr Billig said he was not commenting on what had happened to that vessel but that Naval Group would learn what lessons it could from the incident and previous disasters.

The Shortfin Barracuda will have the ability for the crew to protect themselves, to escape, or to be rescued by unmanned submarines. It will also allow the crew to communicate with the outside world, which is hard when submarines are designed to be as silent as possible.

“This is very difficult — underwater signals do not transmit so we have to find other ways to communicate,” Mr Billig said.

“Submarines are extremely sensitive. The way they communicate is the sensitive part of the sensitive part.”

Mr Billig said Naval Group was a pioneer in extracting crew from stuck submarines with unmanned boats.

Tory Shepherd travelled to France as a guest of the French Embassy in Australia.