Second rebuild likely needed for ageing Collins-class subs until nuclear fleet comes online

The Collins-class submarines are likely to still be in the water by 2050, as fury erupts over the vague timeline of the new nuclear-powered fleet.

The ageing Collins class submarines are likely to need a second rebuild because they could still be needed by 2050, a parliamentary committee has heard.

Major upgrades to the six Collins-class submarines will begin in Adelaide in 2026, adding 10 years to the life of each boat – a project known as “life-of-type extension”.

Chief of navy, Vice Admiral Michael Noonan, strongly suggested on Friday further life-of-type extensions could be done to keep them in the water until 2050 – when they are 50 years old – if the new nuclear-powered submarines can’t be built in time.

Chief of Navy Vice Admiral Michael Noonan revealed a second rebuild for the Collins-class submarines could be needed to keep them in the water until 2050.

“I don’t write off the opportunity for us to further upgrade those submarines beyond that period of LOTE (life-of-type extension),” he told a senate inquiry into Australia’s sovereign naval shipbuilding capability.

Admiral Noonan was confident the fleet could be “successfully” operated until the end of the 2030s.

“But as we get into the 2040s and beyond, the areas of operation that we seek to operate in … will make any conventional powered submarine at higher risk of detection, due to its requirement to surface and snort in order to charge its batteries,” he said.

Adelaide was chosen as the location for the life-of-type extension program on the day the historic AUKUS alliance was announced.

Fury erupted over the vague timeline for the construction of at least eight nuclear-powered submarines to be built in Adelaide.

Vice Admiral Jonathon Mead, head of the month-old Nuclear Submarine Taskforce, was unable to answer questions on when the first of the new submarines were planned to hit the water.

“It really worries me that the admiral in charge of this has no idea of schedule,” SA senator and committee member Rex Patrick told him.

“That tells me there is a lot of recklessness that has gone on here.”

SA Senator Rex Patrick fired up over the lack of schedule for the nuclear-powered submarines.

The only indication of when the first submarine would be ready was “before the end of next decade”, given by Prime Minister Scott Morrison on the day the $90bn Attack-class contract was torn up.

Senator Patrick later threatened to hold Admiral Mead in contempt of the senate when he dodged questions about the estimated cost of the new fleet.

“Stop playing to political masters and behave more properly like an admiral,” Senator Patrick reprimanded.

Admiral Mead eventually revealed the cost of the nuclear-powered submarines would be “more” than the $90bn price tag on the ditched Attack-class fleet.

Tony Fraser, head of the defence department’s Capability Acquisition and Sustainment arm, was left red-faced when he apologised he accidentally “liked” an article posted on social media that advocated for the new submarines to be built in the US, instead of Adelaide.

“This is a case of an analog thumb inadvertently pressing (the ‘like’ button),” he said.

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