The reason the collins class was having trouble. Was the lack of funds to do routine maintenance. Plain and simple you need to keep them up to date and serviced correctly.
8 new submarines and a fourth AWD would be a better mix of defence and offence.
Replace the armidales with something a lot bigger in the corvette size also.
I think the Armidale replacement should stay at that size – their main job is intercepting illegal migrants.
From memory, there was a proposal to transfer the patrol boats to Customs or create a Coast Guard, but the Navy didn’t want to give them up on grounds they were useful for training junior officers.
I’d like another AWD, but it would need a different radar/combat system since we bought the last SPY1s and they aren’t being made anymore so whatever we buy would be out of step with the rest of the fleet.
As I said before, I’d go for 3 additional destroyers instead of 12 subs. I’d have these destroyers equipped with Tomahawks (basically I’d buy 3 Arleigh Burkes).
3 destroyers are of far greater utility than 12 subs. And Tomahawk cruise missiles are a far greater deterrent than torpedos and Harpoon AShms. In fact Tomahawks also have far more utility than Torpedos/AShms in terms of Coalition operations.
It’s interesting the surface fleet is in decline in terms of hull numbers with 4 Adelaide class FFGs being replaced by 3 Hobart class AWDs. That will leave a fleet of 11 larger ships – 8 ANZAC frigates and 3 Hobart class destroyers.
Taiwan which has a similar size population has 26 major ships (including 4 destroyers). But then they also have 400-ish combat aircraft compared to 95 for Australia.
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