Posted on 10/29/2009 9:32:21 AM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
New subs come with a $36bn price
IAN MCPHEDRAN
October 30, 2009 12:01am
The project will be a boon for South Australia, with the Federal Government saying the 12 next-generation submarines will be built at Osborne regardless of who wins the contract.
But a report out today warns that trying to build the new subs in Australia would be fraught with danger and the purchase of smaller, short-range "off-the-shelf" overseas submarines should not be ruled out.
The report, from the Government-funded Australian Strategic Policy Institute, predicts the Australian-made subs would cost a "staggering" $3 billion each - three times the price of the older Collins Class boats.
The bill for the project is more than the annual $35 billion federal education budget, just shy of the $42 billion spent on the Government's stimulus package and more than a third of the $100 billion the nation spends on health each year.
SHOULD SOUTH AUSTRALIA BE THE HOME OF AUSTRALIA'S DEFENCE INDUSTRY? have your say in the comment box below.
THE ASPI report says ASC should be only the "thin-prime" contractor for the new project so the Government controls what will become a massive supply chain.
"ASC should not be handed the build contract as a fait accompli. Indeed, there are good reasons not to do that," the report says.
If the company became the preferred builder the number of new hi-tech jobs would increase. The new submarine project will generate hundreds of new jobs for South Australia.
The six Adelaide-built Collins subs, which cost about $1 billion each, have been burdened by serious problems, including noise and engine and computer breakdowns, since they were launched in the early 1990s.
When fit for sea they are among the most effective conventional submarines in the world.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.com.au ...
do i understand that they are spending three billion apiece on diesel boats?
With the steering wheel on the wrong side.
well i hope it has foster’s on tap. :)
Australian dollars.
The thing that people and the media overlook is that the figures for major equipment purchases isn’t just the purchase/build price. The figure includes the entire cost of ownership over the life of the platform (30 years in this case). The cost covers designing, building, crew costs, fuel, maintenance, some upgrades, weapons expenditure, shore infrastructure, training, etc, etc...)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.