Navy firepower boost: Review wants more destroyers, fewer frigates

The navy would receive a major firepower boost through the addition of three heavily armed air warfare destroyers under a plan being considered by the federal government.

Sources briefed on the findings of a review of the navy’s surface fleet, which was delivered to Defence Minister Richard Marles last week, said it had recommended slashing the planned number of Hunter-class frigates from nine to six, as current shipbuilding projects face cost overruns of up to $20 billion.

The Hunter-class frigates have blown out in size and cost since the program was announced in 2018, with critics saying the ships’ lack of missile cells would leave them seriously under-gunned in any conflict.

The government is considering adding a further three air warfare destroyers to the nation’s fleet, taking the total to six.Credit: Royal Australian Navy

The surface fleet review, led by retired US vice-admiral William Hilarides, is said to call for the final three frigates to be replaced by air warfare destroyers, which could carry up to five times as many missiles as the Hunter-class ships.

“Hilarides definitely backed a further destroyer-type capability,” a source briefed on the contents of the review but not authorised to speak publicly said.

These ships could be made at Adelaide’s Osborne shipyards using the same hull as the Hunter-class frigates under a proposal to be submitted by BAE Systems, the British defence firm that designed the Hunter-class ships.

The review is also said to recommend acquiring three to six corvette-style ships, in line with the defence strategic review’s recommendation that the national fleet should have a mix of larger and smaller navy combatants.

The total cost of the additional ships would be an estimated $25 billion to $30 billion over 20 years, a difficult request as Treasurer Jim Chalmers looks for budget savings and the government prepares to spend up to $368 billion over 30 years on the AUKUS nuclear-powered submarines.

A digital illustration of the planned Hunter-class frigate, which the government is considering cutting back from nine to six.

Adding to the budgetary challenge is the fact the current shipbuilding program, which was priced at $89 billion when it was announced in 2017, is facing a blowout of between $15 billion and $20 billion because of inflation and currency fluctuations.

A damning Australian National Audit Office report released earlier this year found the final cost of the Hunter-class program was expected to be “significantly higher” than the most recent $45 billion estimate.

The government has yet to decide on its response to the review, and has said it will not announce any policy decisions until early next year.

“The independent analysis into navy’s surface combatant fleet capability will help ensure our navy’s surface combatant fleet is fit for purpose and appropriate for our strategic circumstances,” Marles said.

“We will take the necessary time to consider this analysis to ensure we have an appropriately balanced surface fleet that contributes to a fully integrated and more capable Defence Force.”

Spanish shipbuilder Navantia has pitched the government a plan to build three air warfare destroyers at a cost of $2 billion each in a design similar to that used for the navy’s three current Hobart-class destroyers.

Air warfare destroyers can carry up to 150 missile cells, making them vastly more potent than the Hunter-class, which has been widely criticised for having just 32 missile cells.

Another option would be a ship similar to the US navy’s 150-metre long Arleigh Burke-class of guided-missile destroyers.

Defence analyst Michael Shoebridge backed the idea of giving the navy more firepower but feared the additional destroyers could take over a decade to hit the water.

The Hunter-class program should be slashed from nine ships to three to free up more money, he said.

At this stage, the government is expected to proceed with the plan to build 12 offshore patrol vessels at a cost of $3.6 billion, even though these ships have also been criticised for lacking firepower.

A spokeswoman for BAE Systems said the company was “committed to supporting the Australian government in delivering critical sovereign naval capabilities”.​

​“The Hunter program is making strong progress and in May, we began building the first schedule protection block, which will be used in the first ship,” the spokeswoman said.

​“We are focused on designing and building the world’s best anti-submarine warfare capability for the Royal Australian Navy, and continuing to build the foundations of continuous naval shipbuilding to support Australia to own and operate tier one naval warships.”