No Tomahawk cruise missiles for Collins Class submarines

Plans to retro-fit Tomahawk cruise missiles to the Adelaide-built Collins Class submarine fleet have been ditched.

Plans to arm the Adelaide-built Collins Class submarines with Tomahawk cruise missiles have been scuttled, exposing a firepower gap stretching into the next decade.

The long-range missiles were being considered by defence to significantly boost the six Collins submarines’ strike power, enabling them to accurately hit targets more than 2000km away.

But retro-fitting the torpedo-launched missiles to the ageing Collins fleet has been rejected as neither viable nor value for money, Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy will reveal on Wednesday morning.

It is understood advice from defence and independent experts said the torpedo-launch Tomahawks were not in production and, even if they were, would be too costly and time-consuming to fit to the Collins fleet in a major upgrade starting in 2026.

The complexity meant they would have enabled for Collins only after the arrival of Viriginia Class nuclear-powered submarines from the early 2030s, on which vertical-launch Tomahawk missiles are standard.

A Tomahawk cruise missile is launched from the nuclear-powered attack submarine USS LA JOLLA (SSN-701) on the Pacific Missile Test Center (PMTC) range.

“The life-of-type extension program is a sensible approach that underscores the Albanese Government’s unwavering commitment to keeping Australians safe by ensuring the ADF has the capabilities it needs to deter potential adversaries,” Mr Conroy said.

“The sustainment and upgrade work on the Collins Class submarines give industry the certainty it needs and will provide a further boost for Australians who will benefit from the creation of highly skilled and well-paid jobs.”

Opposition Senate Leader Simon Birmingham in April predicted plans to arm the Collins with Tomahawks would be wound back, warning this would be a “big blow” to defence strikepower.

Senator Birmingham also then warned of an apparent $1bn scaling back of the Collins Life of Type Extension, challenging the government to spell out what this meant for capability and South Australian jobs.

Four of the Adelaide-built Collins Class submarines. Photo: LSIS Richard Cordell

But Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong on Tuesday said the plan would “deliver continuous shipbuilding jobs for South Australia, while securing the defence capabilities to keep Australians safe”.

“This plan to extend the life of the Collins Class submarines will help ensure there is a continuous pipeline of work for SA in the lead up to the AUKUS build,” she said.

At least eight nuclear-powered submarines will be built as part of a $368bn project at Adelaide’s Osborne Naval Shipyard, where the LOTE will be conducted from 2026.

But the AUKUS submarines, to be built by ASC and BAE Systems Australia, will not hit the water until the 2040s.

The Navy revealed in early 2022 that Tomahawk cruise missiles were being considered for the Collins, saying a feasibility study was being done.

Tomahawk cruise missiles will also be used by Navy’s Hobart class destroyers and fitted to the Adelaide-built Hunter Class frigates, subject to a feasibility study.