Australia’s federal government plans to modernise and extend the service life of its Collins-class diesel-electric submarine fleet, with reported spending of about A$11 billion. Multiple Australian outlets say the upgrades are intended to keep the six submarines in service for longer as Australia bridges a capability gap ahead of the arrival of new U.S.-built nuclear-powered submarines under AUKUS. The reporting also links the decision to the expected timing of the first nuclear submarines, sometimes described as starting to arrive in the early 2030s, and notes that Collins-class vessels are already well past their originally planned 30-year service lives, with many in service for roughly the past two to three decades.
While the overall $11 billion modernisation figure is consistent across several sources, ABC and other coverage characterise the program as being scaled back compared with earlier upgrade ambitions. Bloomberg adds that refurbishment work is expected to begin on older boats as part of ensuring continued undersea capability into the next decade. Background reporting also points to long-running planning and schedule difficulties around submarine replacement efforts.
