New Depths in Australia-US Relations: The Collins Class ...

Maryanne Kelton: New Depths 21In recognition of this, the USN had forward planned the construction of thenew SSN, designed for operations both in coastal waters and open ocean. 100Currently under construction by Electric Boat in Groton, Connecticut, and NewportNews Shipbuilding, the USN claimed this submarine will have 'unparalleled stealthand survivability' with specific non acoustic noise reduction technology appropriatefor shallow/constrained waters. 101 More so, its system of sonar sensors wereintended to counter the new generation of exceedingly quiet submarines. 102Nevertheless, it was only at the conclusion of 1998 that the contract was awarded tobegin construction of the new Virginia class submarine, with delivery of the first ofclass, USS Virginia, (SSN 774) not scheduled until 2004. With alterations to thenegotiations the final contract was eventually awarded to General Dynamics andNorthrop Grumman in 2003. 103 However, with a displacement of approximately,7,925 tonnes, the Virginia class were also more than double the displacement of theCollins. 104 It should also be noted that the US submarine force although pre-eminent,did not keep pace with its Cold War force structure. The Seawolf class, the mostadvanced US attack submarine in 2002, was originally intended as a fleet of 29, butwas reduced to three with budget constraints during the 1990s. 105 (As stated earlier,the Seawolf project had also encountered considerable project difficulties, particularlywith the combat system, noise and welding issues.) To enhance US capability,however, America looked to its allies. Rear Admiral Al Konetzni, commander of theUS submarine forces in the Pacific in 2000 explained,(w)e are pushing forward our relationship with Australia so it's as strong as the onewe have with the UK in the Atlantic…Our nuclear assets are limited, but themissions aren't. Since 1997, we have retired about half of the Navy's fast attackboats, leaving me with 26 subs for the entire Pacific…That makes it all the moreimportant to work closely with our allies. 106By 2001, the US in its Quadrennial Defense Review Report stated that,100 Given its size it would be impossible to conduct operations in shallow water. Terry Roach argues,however, that the US does have experience in shallow water operations. This was achieved through itsactivities in the territorial waters of the USSR, during the Vietnam War in the South China Sea, andtowards the conclusion of the Cold War the USSR operated SSBNs closer to home in the Barents Seaand Arctic Ocean. He argued that conditions under the polar ice cap resembled the reverberation-richenvironment of shallow seas. See, Terence Roach, 'Opportunity knocks for the Collins class', Asia-Pacific Defence Reporter, October/November 2000, pp. 38-39.101 United States Navy, 'Forward…From Under the Sea', Autumn 1998, p. 4.102 United States Navy, 'The New Attack Submarine', undated, p. 2, . accessed March 2001. In 2004 see, .103 Dan Morgan and Renae Merle, ‘6 Nuclear Submarines to Cost $8.7 Billion’, Washington Post, 15August 2003, p. EO1.104 United States Navy, 'Attack Submarines - SSN', 29 January 2001, pp. 1-2, . Accessed May 2001. See also ADMFrank L. 'Skip' Bowman, USN, Director of Naval Nuclear Propulsion, 'An Integrated Electric PowerSystem: The Next Step', Undersea Warfare, vol. 3, no. 1, Fall 2000.105 United States Navy, 'Fast Attack Submarines', undated, . Accessed May 2001. Reflection of the budgetconstraints for the US Navy is evidenced in the Congressional Budget Office’s extended study onimproving the efficiency of the submarine force. See Congress of the United States, CongressionalBudget Office, ‘Increasing the Mission Capability of the Attack Submarine Force’, A CBO Study, March2002, < http://www.cbo.gov >. Accessed September 2002.106 Vago Muradian, 'Top US Admiral Lauds Quality of Australian Collins Subs', Defense DailyInternational, vol.1, no.30, 27 October 2000.