Along with the formation of the AUKUS defense pact with the United States and Britain, Australia has proclaimed it will acquire eight units of nuclear-powered submarines. Even so, it is not an easy matter to make this dream come true.
Regardless of where the nuclear submarines will be built later, one thing is certain that nuclear submarines, if delivered in a new form, will take a long time, which is projected to be accepted by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) in 2040.
Wanting to bring in leased nuclear submarines from the US and UK, it can be done, but again, not necessarily the US and UK are ready stock to release their nuclear submarines. Australian Finance Minister Simon Birmingha and Australian Defense Minister Peter Dutton have confirmed in separate interviews that leasing nuclear submarines from ally AUKUS could be a stop-gap solution until Australia takes delivery of its own, potentially in the 2040s.
Seeing the fact that the procurement of nuclear-powered nuclear submarines takes a long time and is not easy to do, the Australian Navy must take careful decisions, especially to maintain the level of combat readiness of the existing submarine fleet, namely six Collins Class units produced by the Australian Submarine Corporation (ASC). ) Shipbuilding. At least until 2040, the Australian Navy must ensure the Collins Class is adaptive to serve warfare in this era of cruise missiles.
Coupled with the issue of tension between Australia and China in the South Pacific region, Australia must prepare the Collins Class as optimally as possible. It is not limited to upgrading sensors and electronic devices, but the Collins Class weapon system must be significantly upgraded.
Quoted from navalnews.com (18/5/2022), it is stated that the Australian Navy is considering equipping the Collins Class with the ability to launch Tomahawk cruise missiles.
At the Indo Pacific 2022 event in Sydney (10-12 May), Rear Admiral Peter Quinn, head of Navy Capability, said that his party was "doing the work" to see if the Collins Class was suitable to be equipped with Tomahawk missiles. "We're doing the work to see what it takes to put the Tomahawk into the submarine," Quinn said.
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| MK48 mod4 torpedo on HMAS Collins. |
The planned installation of Tomahawk for the Collins Class will be included in the Life of Type Extension (LOTE) package to extend the life of the Collins Class. As part of the LOTE program, starting in 2026, one Collins Class unit will complete a modernization every two years. The LOTE upgrade, which is still in development, will see the ship's power and propulsion systems to be overhauled, as well as sensors to be upgraded.
If the Tomahawk missile is later installed as part of LOTE, then hardware and software modifications will be required to accommodate this sophisticated and strategic weapon.
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| Combat systems Collins Class features Raytheon CCS mk2 |
Since the Collins Class does not have a Vertical Launch System (VLS), the integration of the Tomahawk will refer to the Tomahawk launch system via torpedo tubes, namely the Tomahawk Block IV (tactical tomahawk), as used by the British Navy on nuclear submarines. Astute Class.
The Tomahawk has a range of up to 1,000 miles (1,609 km) with a maximum speed of 885 km per hour. The Tomahawk Block IV includes support for two-way satellite link that allows in-flight missile reprogramming and transmission of battle damage indication (BDI) imagery.
The problem is, the Tomahawk launch system via torpedo tubes is no longer produced. Of course, Raytheon as a manufacturer can reproduce it if there is a significant demand for the cruise missile.
Australia's opposition Labor Party has previously committed to equipping the Collins Class submarine with the Tomahawk in a bid to avoid a potential future capability gap.
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