Defence contractor Australian Defence Industries has admitted that a $1 billion frigate upgrade project is beset by major technical problems and is running more than three years late.Taxpayers have handed over $800 million of the $1.4 billion project and not one of the four warships is ready for combat.
The first vessel in the program, HMAS Sydney, is in dry dock at ADI's Garden Island shipyard in Sydney undergoing major repairs to its sonars, command and control and electronic support systems.
Equipment defects and a major sea water leak prevented testing of vital equipment.
The ship is due out of the dock on December 14, a day before it will be provisionally accepted by the navy.
Four of the navy's six frigates were supposed to be upgraded by December this year, but will not be finished until at least December 2009.
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