News
cost to US$2.9 billion. 2025 and is a high priority for the Labour Govern-
Cochin yard is also refitting India’s sole carrier, INS ment. However, there remain grave doubts about the
Viraat, whose steam turbines are being overhauled programme which many regard as too ambitious. In
and the boilers are being retubed. The ship’s electron- common with many countries, Australia is cutting
ics will be upgraded and she is scheduled to return to back on defence programmes and has decided not
Mumbai in July of this year. to take up an option on a fourth Hobart class Air
Warfare Destroyer (AWD).
Corvettes There are fears in the navy that the government
Fourth corvette
would fund the submarines by slashing the surface
combatant fleet, which will fall to 11 hulls by 2018.
for Indonesia
The government of Kevin Rudd has pledged to fund
the submarine programme, which is likely to feature
The fourth Sigma class corvette KRI Frans Kaisiepo, European-designed hulls with US combat systems,
built by Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding for the sensors and weapons. The work will certainly be
Navy of the Republic of Indonesia, was handed over performed at the ASC yard in Adelaide which built
and commissioned on 7 March. the six Swedish-designed Collins class boats, but
The Minister of Defence of the Republic of Indone- critics note that this programme’s costs rose from
sia, H E Professor Dr Juwono Sudarsono, signed the A$3.9 billion to more than A$6billion and there were
hand-over documents on behalf of the Republic of many technical problems.
Indonesia. Far more serious, however, will be the problem of
manning 12 boats when the Australian government
submarines can barely keep half the Collins class at sea with 420
Australia to launch
qualified submariners. Defence Minister Joel Fitzgib-
bon has admitted this is a serious problem and, in an
sub gamble
attempt to retain skilled crews they are being offered
annual bonuses of A$60,000 (US$38,600).
The Australian government has begun its programme
to produce a new generation of submarines and Aircraft Carriers
a flotilla twice the size of the existing one. The
programme, SEA 1000, is estimated to cost A$20-35
China to have
billion (US$12.9-22.5 billion) and will be formally
carrier “soon”
launched with the new Australian Defence White
Paper. A senior Chinese naval officer has said that Beijing
The first step has been taken with the appoint- will have an aircraft carrier ‘very soon’ while South
ment of Rear Admiral Rowan Moffitt as head, Future Korea may also be seeking a carrier capability.
Submarine Programme in Defence Materiel Organi- Naval Spyglass reports that Rear Admiral Xu
sation (DMO). Admiral Moffitt will also lead a Hongmeng, the East China Fleet commander, made
combined Navy, DMO and Capability Development the claim during a meeting with the press on 5 March.
Group Future Submarine Project Office and began He said: “Both technologically and economically,
work on 23 February. China already has the capacity to build a carrier.”
The future submarine is planned to replace the His claim was made as China announced that
country’s Collins class submarine between 2020 and defence spending would rise by 14.9% to the equiva-
lent of US$70.27 billion. However, while the navy is
enthusiastic about a carrier, the army’s reaction has
been more muted.
Beijing has been looking into aircraft carriers for
some years and is refurbishing the former Russian
Kuznetsov class carrier as Shi Lang. China is reported
to have purchased four carrier landing systems and
was seeking 50 Russian Su-33 carrier-based aircraft.
Meanwhile, South Korea is reported to be interested
in buying Lockheed Martin’s F-35B Lightning II short
takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) for operations
from its Dokdo Ham class amphibious vessels. The
Australia wants to acquire more submarines but is
same aircraft are planned for the Royal Navy’s Queen
finding it difficult to man the ones it already has.
Elizabeth class carriers. WT
Warship Technology May 2009 11
p6-7-8-9-10-11_WT_May09.indd 11 17/04/2009 10:35:49
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