Didn’t serve on them - know a number of people who did quite well.
The Collins class boats have wound up very capable - after lot of teething problems - that seems to be the general assessment of those who served on them.
The reasons behind going overseas really seem to me to relate to other issues - one big one being that an industry that assumed it was almost guaranteed to get this type of work simply by being Australian has not bothered to develop efficiency or reliability standards this type of work needs.
All things being equal I’d always prefer these major projects for the ADF were as Australian as possible - but not at the expense of capability, efficiency or safety. We have a duty to put our men and women to sea in the best vessels possible - wherever they come from. And defence procurement should never become just another jobs program.
Have to agree that it should not just be a jobs program -I’m not sure that ASC would agree with the assessment that it has not developed the efficiency or reliability standards after learning so much on the Collins and putting in lots of fixes into a design which was full of faults from the outset. Still I don’t build subs so I am only taking other people’s words for it!
Mel