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| Down Under |
| Australia Rules Under the Waves |
| 2004-11-23 |
| The United States, in a rare move, is giving Australia access to American sonar and underwater warfare systems technology. Australia is spending $355 million to upgrade the sonar and fire control systems on its six Collins class subs, and this new deal with the U.S. means that those diesel electric subs will carry the most advanced electronics in the world. The Collins class boats, mainly because of the quality of their crews, have proved to be among the most capable diesel-electric subs in the world. This is known because Collins class boats often train with U.S. Navy ships and aircraft, and usually come out ahead. This has made the American admirals more concerned about the threat from diesel-electric subs. For the moment, however, none of America's potential naval foes have submarine crews as well trained as the Australians. The Collins class boats were built in Holland during the 1990s, and are based on a Swedish design (the Type 471.) At 3,000 tons displacement, the Collins are half the size of the American Los Angeles class nuclear attack subs. However, boats that size are nearly twice the size of subs Sweden and Holland are accustomed to designing and building for their own use. Australia needed larger boats because of the sheer size of the oceans that surround Australia. There were a lot of technical problems with the Collins class boats, which the media jumped all over. Australia didn't formally "accept" all the Collins class boats until earlier this year, when everyone agreed that all the major technical problems were fixed, or at least identified. For the moment. Submarines tend to always be a work in progress. But the six Australian subs are a major factor when it comes to naval strength in the western Pacific. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #6 Perisher’s tradition for handling an unsuccessful student is not to make him aware of his failure until a small boat approaches to remove him from the submarine. Unknown to the unfortunate officer, his sea bag has already been packed by a member of the crew and brought up for the transfer. Upon departure, he is presented with his personal gear and a bottle of whisky, never again to return to submarine service. Ouch. |
| Posted by: Zpaz 2004-11-23 8:43:50 PM |
| #5 Tne RN course is called Perisher, not Punisher. Here is a story from the Spring 2003 edition of Undersea Magazine by the first USN officer to attend, LCDR Stpehen Mack. |
| Posted by: Zpaz 2004-11-23 8:40:18 PM |
| #4 Don't forget pirates. Seems like all the locals want to talk about the pirate problem but not do anything about it. Probably because they all benefit from it in some way. A rash of sudden disappearances would solve the situation quite nicely. And if the odd Indon or Malay patrol craft gets "lost", well, there's a lesson to be learned there, too. |
| Posted by: Chuck Simmins 2004-11-23 7:28:05 PM |
| #3 CH: Some do. The US and Brits both accept allied navies in their courses, though AFAIK, no US Navy officer has been through the Punisher, nor a RN officer through the US course. So, as a guess, I would say there have been Aussies in each. How many, or what percentage, I dunno. |
| Posted by: jackal 2004-11-23 6:39:12 PM |
| #2 Gee, I wonder if the Aussie sub commanders go through the RN's Punisher course. |
| Posted by: Cheaderhead 2004-11-23 4:46:49 PM |
| #1 The latest Atlantic Monthly has an article about the likelihood of a submarine blockade of Taiwan if the island decides to declare independence. It mentioned that an Australian diesel sub had snuck up on and "sunk" a U.S. missile boat during a recent exercise, and that the Chinese also use them. Sounds like the Navy wants more high-quality friends to practice with. |
| Posted by: Baltic Blog 2004-11-23 12:58:47 PM |