Extension for submarines

The Defence Department is confident it can extend the life of the troubled Collins Class submarine while it develops a new fleet but admits to challenges keeping the vessels a match for modernising militaries in the Asia region.

It also revealed it has gathered a hand-picked team of international and local experts to start planning potential new designs for the Collins’ successor, which is expected around 2030 or later.

Speaking at the Pacific 2013 maritime security conference in Sydney on Wednesday, Defence’s top submarine manager, David Gould, said steps were already being taken to make sure the Collins did not become obsolete even if – as expected – the life of the six submarines needs to be extended by about seven years.

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