Defending Australia: Hunter-Killer revives WWII mission as first line of defence against enemy subs
Australia’s $45bn future frigates will be positioned as anti-submarine Hunter-Killers in an echo of World War II, as construction accelerates on several massive naval projects.
SA News
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Construction of Australia’s $45bn future frigates is being accelerated and the ships positioned as anti-submarine Hunter-Killer groups, in the wake of alarming Chinese threats.
It is the Adelaide-based project to build six Hunter class frigates is being ratcheted up after a Chinese flotilla circumnavigated Australia in February and a spy ship in March followed the path of a critical undersea cable.
Chinese submarine activity is also considered to present significant challenges in the Indo-Pacific, with more than half of the world’s submarines predicted to be operating in the region by the early 2030s.
The first Hunter frigate is expected to be operational in 2034, tasked with leading a fleet of up to six anti-submarine frigates and co-ordinating with Collins class submarines to protect Australian waters and trade routes.
This is being positioned as a modern-day version of renowned Hunter-Killer groups during World War II, which were charged with seeking and destroying enemy submarines.
BAE Systems Australia, which is building the Hunter frigates at Osborne Naval Shipyard in Adelaide’s northwest, says construction of ship one is on budget and schedule.
The project involves up to 2600 workers, with more than 400 trades expected to be hired in 2025 to achieve the peak capability.
BAE Systems Australia chief executive Craig Lockhart said: “This is military capability that is unrivalled, marrying the best that Australia, the UK and the US can offer to achieve real maritime superiority in our region.
“Operating as part of an anti-submarine system, Hunter will be a key capability in protecting Australia and its trade routes.”
Construction has started on 31 of 78 blocks for the first of class Hunter frigate, which is scheduled to be delivered to the Navy in 2032.
Ships two and three will follow on a two-year cycle, with expected operational dates in 2036 and 2038.
Work is progressing to incorporate into the Hunter ships the Australian CEA Phased-Array Radar and the US Navy’s Aegis combat management system, with an Australian interface developed by Saab Australia.
The combat systems enterprise also includes involvement from the federal government and Lockheed Martin Australia.
BAE Systems Australia acting managing director maritime Paul Berryman said: “Working together as one team ensures three of Australia’s largest defence industry primes are united in one shared goal to equip the Royal Australian Navy with advanced capability.”
Three frigates were axed from the Hunter warship build and replaced by a next-generation air warfare destroyer project, in a surface fleet review released in February last year.
At the time, Defence Minister Richard Marles renewed his repeated pledge of continuous naval shipbuilding by promising the six Hunter anti-submarine frigates would be immediately followed by construction of the replacement for Hobart Class air warfare destroyers (AWDs).
This followed BAE the previous November unveiling a dramatically expanded 96-missile design for the Hunter frigates.
Everything shipshape as subs plan surfaces
Australia’s $368bn AUKUS nuclear-powered submarine project has been given “clarity” by a UK decision to build 12 attack submarines and all timelines are on track, says project chief Vice Admiral Jonathan Mead.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer launched a major defence review that moved his country to “war-fighting readiness” and preparing to operate the AUKUS submarine fleet from the late 2030s.
Vice Admiral Mead, the Australian Submarine Agency director-general, said the AUKUS program would involve UK investment in BAE Systems’ Barrow shipyard to increase its capacity, along with the capability of its supply chain.
Speaking before the Pentagon announced a review of the AUKUS deal, Vice Admiral Mead said construction of the first Australian-built nuclear submarine would start at Adelaide’s Osborne Naval Shipyard by the end of this decade, enabling it to be in the water by the early 2040s.
“All those timelines are on track,” Vice Admiral Mead said.
Australian officials intend to learn from the Barrow shipyard’s functions when designing and building a state-of-the-art extension to Osborne, in Adelaide’s northwest, for the Australian nuclear-powered submarine facility.
Vice Admiral Mead, who has visited Barrow numerous times, welcomed the UK defence review’s kickstarting of the AUKUS submarine project.
“That does provide clarity for the Australian Submarine Agency and defence in Australia as a whole, but also provides clarity to our industrial base,” he said.
The Barrow shipyard was built more than a century ago, with continual upgrades, and had heritage buildings and space constraints.
UK and United States officials had been on numerous tours of the greenfield site at Osborne where the vast nuclear shipyard would be built.
“They’re very envious of the site that we have and the ability to be able to build a contemporary, state-of-the-art shipyard that will build SSN-AUKUS with the most up-to-date automated equipment in the world,” Vice Admiral Mead said.
“But we will be doing that in concert and in lock-step with the UK. We are drawing upon the UK design. We talk every day to the UK about Barrow.”
The first workers for the Australian nuclear-powered submarine project will use production demonstration buildings, construction of which will start at Osborne by the end of the year.
“We’ll cut steel. We’ll test out the steel. We’ll make sure that the dimensions are exact. We’ll build valves, pumps, and other systems, plus piping and welding,” Vice Admiral Mead said.
“We want to make sure that when we when we do our welding-proper, that our welds are correct. The demonstration facilities will test out a range of skills and a range of capabilities that we will need in order to commence build proper of the submarine.”
He said similar demonstrations would happen across the country, within numerous industries.
“This is a national endeavour. It won’t be solely done in South Australia,” Vice Admiral Mead said.
“We welcome the other states’ workforce and their capacity to be able to feed into the heart of the SSN-AUKUS build program, which will be down at Osborne. We need to draw upon every aspect of Australian society and industry for the program.”
Originally published as Defending Australia: Hunter-Killer revives WWII mission as first line of defence against enemy subs
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