Bridging subs ‘capability gap’ is top priority in defence, says Marles

Defence Minister Richard Marles says bridging Australia’s submarine ‘capability gap’ is his top priority in the job.

Richard Marles (second right) says the defence capability gap could take up to two decades to fix. Picture:NCA NewsWire / Andrew Taylor

Australia‘s new Defence Minister Richard Marles says bridging the “capability gap” between the retirement of the Collins-class submarines and the arrival of the AUKUS nuclear-powered boats is his top priority in the role.

Potential options to plug the gap include a “Son of Collins” interim submarine, more Hobart-class destroyers, or even buying into the United States’ B-21 bomber program.

Mr Marles claimed the capability gap would be up to two decades long, and addressing it would be “pretty well the number one agenda item in this portfolio”.

“What we saw under the former government was a gap of 20 years open up in terms of capability in relation to our submarines in just ten years,” he told Sky News.

“It‘s one of the worst failures of defence procurement that we’ve seen in our nation’s history under the former government.”

Former defence minister Peter Dutton gave the green light to ten-year “life-of-type-extensions” to all six Collins-class boats, the first of which would commence in 2026 and be completed in 2028.

The first of the upgraded Collins would retire in 2038, with the remaining boats leaving service every two years after that.

But even the most optimistic estimates put delivery of Australia’s first nuclear-powered submarines at 2040 at the earliest.

Former defence minister Peter Dutton gave the green light to ten-year ‘life-of-type-extensions’ to all six Collins-class boats.

Former submariners have also warned that without more submarines earlier, the navy will be unable to train the extra crew members needed to operate the larger and more complex nuclear boats.

Mr Marles told ABC radio: “I don‘t for a second pretend this is not going to be a really difficult issue. It is. And I don’t have all the answers right now on day one, but this is a key focus.”

He said the Albanese government would stick to its promise to maintain Defence spending at 2 per cent of GDP, and was committed to the former government’s $270bn procurement pipeline.

“What you will get from Labor is a much more considered spend and a much smarter spend, so that we actually get bang for the buck that we've committed,” Mr Marles said.

Swedish submarine manufacturer Saab Kockums, which built the Collins, is offering a “Block 2” Collins-class, which it says would be largely the same as an upgraded Collins bat bit with a hull that would last another 30 years.

But Chief of Navy, Vice Admiral Mike Noonan, said embarking on another submarine build on top of the nuclear boats would be unfeasible.

“Introducing an interim submarine, I think, would bring more challenges than it would capability and it would seem inconceivable that a small navy such as ours could viably operate a transition of Collins, to an interim, to a nuclear,” he said.

Mr Dutton also ruled out the option.

“It is not in our national interest to pretend we can have a third class of submarine — somehow, we can buy it off the shelf,” Mr Dutton told the National Press Club during the election campaign.

“I want someone to explain to me where this shelf is, because I don't know”.